Sridevi, Vinod Khanna honoured at National Awards

Bollywood makes way for regional cinema at the National Awards.

Doffing its hat to mainstream stars Vinod Khanna and Sridevi, the 65th National Film Awards recognised their contribution to the Indian cinema by honouring them posthumously with the Dadasaheb Phalke and Best Actress awards respectively.

Announcing Sridevi's name, feature film jury head Shekhar Kapur -- who directed her in the iconic Mr India -- said the actor was the most deserving candidate. 

Sridevi, whose filmography spanned across 50 years and in 300 films in languages such as Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, was recognised for her role of an angry mother seeking justice for her daughter in the rape revenge drama, Mom.

"It was not because of the relationship we shared, but because she was the most deserving candidate for her portrayal in Mom," Kapur said.

Sridevi's husband Boney Kapoor became emotional when told about her win.

"I just wish she was here today to see this," Boney told PTI.

Boney, along with his daughters Janhvi and Khushi, released a statement to express their gratitude.

'We are overjoyed to know that the jury has conferred the Best Actor award to Sridevi for her performance in Mom. It's a very special moment for all of us. She was always a perfectionist and it showed in all the 300 plus films she did.'

'She was not just a Super actor but a super wife and a super mom. It's time to celebrate her life and her achievements. She is not with us today, but her legacy will always live on.'

Khanna, one of the biggest stars of Hindi films in the 1970s and 1980s, became the 49th recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke award, Indian cinema's highest honour.

He is likely only the second actor to be named for the honour posthumously after Prithviraj Kapoor.

The jury recognised the diversity in Indian cinema by presenting accolades to films belonging to different languages.

Rima Das' Assamese film Village Rockstars, about the music aspirations of a village girl, was named the Best Feature film, besides scoring awards for the Best Location sound recordist, Editing and Best Child Artiste (Bhanita Das).

Jayaraj was named Best Director and the Best Adapted Screenplay writer for his Malayalam film Bhayanakam. It also won the Best Cinematography award.

Riddhi Sen was recognised as the Best Actor for Kaushik Ganguly's Nagarkirtan, which also bagged awards in multiple categories -- Best Costume, Makeup and Special Jury.

Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman swept the Best Music Direction category by winning the Best Song for the Tamil film Kaatru Veliyidai and the Best Background Music for the Hindi film Mom.

Sinjar, made in the Jasari language, won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film. Directed by Pampally, it was also recognised as the Best Film in the Jasari language.

Blockbuster Baahubali: The Conclusion won the National Award for the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, besides being named for Special Effects and Action Direction.

Ganesh Acharya won the choreography award for the Hindi film Toilet: Ek Prem Katha.

Newton was named the Best Hindi film and a special mention went to its actor Pankaj Tripathi for his portrayal of cynical CRPF officer Atma Singh.

Kapur called Tripathi's portrayal one of the highlights of the Amit V Masurkar-directed film.

"This is a very important day for me, and an equally important award. I am thankful to the government for recognising my work. When I stepped out of my village, I had the desire of winning a National Award someday. I am humbled," Tripathi told PTI.

"It's a huge achievement for all of us. Newton is such a unique and special film for all of us. It's a film which has been made with so much purity and honesty, without keeping any commercial aspects in mind," Rajkummar Rao said.

The Nargis Dutt Award for the Best Feature Film on National Integration went to the Marathi film Dhappa, while the Malayalam film Aalorumkkam was recognised as the Best Film on Social Issues.

Divya Dutta was named the Best Supporting Actress for her role in Irada, which also bagged the award for the Best Film on Environmental Conservation/Preservation.

"It is my first National Award even though everyone thought I had already won one. Today, it has finally come true," Dutta told PTI.

Fahad Fazil won the Best Supporting Actor Award for the Malayalam film Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum.

The film was also recognised for original screenplay.

The Best Dialogues went to the Odia film Hello Arsi. It was also recognised as the Best Odia Film

Mhorkya, a Marathi film, was adjudged the Best Children's film, while the Best Marathi film award went to Kaccha Limbu.

Legendary singer K J Yesudas was recognised as the Best Male Singer for his song Poy Maranja Kalam in the Malayalam film Viswasapoorva M Mansoor, while the Best Female Singer went to Shashaa Tirupati for the song Vaan for Kaatru Veliyidai.