# 21st National Film Awards

The 21st National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1973. Ceremony took place in October 1974 and awards were given by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

## Juries

Prior to 21st National Film Awards, there used to be regional committees at Bombay (Mumbai), Calcutta (Kolkata) and Madras (Chennai), the recommendations of which were then considered by central committee. To avoid this long-winded process, regional committees were discarded.
Two different committees were formed for feature films and short films, headed by Romesh Thapar and S. K. Kooka respectively.
* Jury Members: Feature Films
** Romesh Thapar (Chairperson) • Usha Bhagat • Teji Bachchan • Ismat Chughtai • M. Yunus Dehlvi • Ashis Burman
** Firoze Rangoonwalla • Dina Pathak • B. V. Karanth • T. S. Pillai • T. K. Mahadevan • J. Swaminathan
** Dileep Padgaonkar • Subodh Mukherjee • U. Visweswar Raw • Asim Paul • Tarun Majumdar • Ananta Patnaik
** Illindula Saraswathi Devi • M. Bhaktavatsala • Sai Paranjpye • K. R. K. Menon • O. V. Vijayan
* Jury Members: Short Films
** S. K. Kooka (Chairperson) • Balwant Gargi • Nalni Soni • Komal Kothari

## Awards

Awards were divided into feature films and non-feature films.
President's gold medal for the All India Best Feature Film is now better known as National Film Award for Best Feature Film, whereas President's gold medal for the Best Documentary Film is analogous to today's National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film. For children's films, Prime Minister's gold medal is now given as National Film Award for Best Children's Film. At the regional level, President's silver medal for Best Feature Film is now given as National Film Award for Best Feature Film in a particular language. Certificate of Merit in all the categories is discontinued over the years.

### Lifetime Achievement Award

| Award | Image | Awardee(s) | Awarded As | Cash Prize |
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award | | Ruby Myers (Sulochana) | Actress | ₹20,000, a gold medal and a shawl |

### Feature films

Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 21st National Film Awards, a Malayalam film Nirmalyam won the President's gold medal for the All India Best Feature Film; whereas a Bengali film Ashani Sanket and a Kannada film Kaadu won the maximum number of awards (three). Following were the awards given in each category:

#### All India Award

Following were the awards given:
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film | Nirmalyam | Malayalam | Producer: M. T. Vasudevan Nair | Gold Medal and ₹40,000 |
| Best Feature Film | Nirmalyam | Malayalam | Director: M. T. Vasudevan Nair | Gold Medal and ₹40,000 |
| Second Best Feature Film | Kaadu | Kannada | Producer: K. N. Narayan | Silver Medal and ₹15,000 |
| Second Best Feature Film | Kaadu | Kannada | Producer: G. N. Lakshmipathy | Silver Medal and ₹15,000 |
| Second Best Feature Film | Kaadu | Kannada | Director: Girish Karnad | Silver Medal and ₹10,000 |
| Best Feature Film on National Integration | Garm Hava | Hindi | Producer: M/s Unit 3 MM | A Medal and ₹30,000 |
| Best Feature Film on National Integration | Garm Hava | Hindi | Director: M. S. Sathyu | A Medal and ₹20,000 |
| Best Cinematography (Black and White) | 27 Down | Hindi | Apurba Kishore Bir | Silver Medal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Cinematography (Color) | Ashani Sanket | Bengali | Soumendu Roy | Silver Medal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Direction | Duvidha | Hindi | Mani Kaul | Silver Medal and ₹20,000 |
| Best Actor (Bharat Award) | Nirmalyam | Malayalam | P. J. Antony | A figurine |
| Best Actress (Urvashi Award) | Kaadu | Kannada | Nandini Bhaktavatsala | A figurine |
| Best Child Artist | Kaadu | Kannada | G. S. Nataraj | Silver Medal |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Gayathri | Malayalam | K. J. Yesudas | Silver Medal |
| Best Music Direction | Ashani Sanket | Bengali | Satyajit Ray | Silver Medal and ₹10,000 |
| Best Screenplay | Padatik | Bengali | Mrinal Sen | Silver Medal and ₹10,000 |
| Best Screenplay | Padatik | Bengali | Ashish Burman | Silver Medal and ₹10,000 |
| Best Story | Garm Hava | Hindi | Ismat Chughtai | Silver Medal and ₹10,000 |
| Best Story | Garm Hava | Hindi | Kaifi Azmi | Silver Medal and ₹10,000 |

#### Regional Award

The awards were given to the best films made in the regional languages of India. For feature films in English, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Meitei, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi and Telugu language, President's silver medal for Best Feature Film was not given. The producer of the film was awarded with a silver medal and ₹10,000, the director of the film was awarded with a silver medal and ₹5,000, and leading actors were awarded with a souvenir.
| Award | Film | Awardee(s) | Awardee(s) | Awardee(s) | Awardee(s) |
| Award | Film | Producer | Director | Actor | Actress |
| Best Feature Film in Assamese | Mamta | Nalin Dowerah | Eva Achow | Rudra Baruah | Nalin Dowerah |
| Best Feature Film in Assamese | Mamta | Prafulla Dutta | Eva Achow | Rudra Baruah | Nalin Dowerah |
| Best Feature Film in Assamese | Mamta | Shiba Thakur | Eva Achow | Rudra Baruah | Nalin Dowerah |
| Best Feature Film in Bengali | Ashani Sanket | Sarbeni Bhattacharya | Satyajit Ray | Soumitra Chatterjee | Bobita |
| Best Feature Film in Hindi | 27 Down | Awatar Krishna Kaul | Awatar Krishna Kaul | M. K. Raina | Raakhee |
| Best Feature Film in Kannada | Abachurina Post Office | Patre C. Vinayak | N. Lakshminarayan | B. N. Narayan | Girija |
| Best Feature Film in Malayalam | Gayathri | A. R. Shreedharan Elayidom | P. N. Menon | V. Raghavan | Jayabharathi |
| Best Feature Film in Malayalam | Gayathri | P. B. Ashram | P. N. Menon | V. Raghavan | Jayabharathi |
| Best Feature Film in Tamil | Dikkatra Parvathi | M/s Navatarang | Singeetam Srinivasa Rao | Srikanth | Lakshmi |

### Non-Feature films

Following were the awards given:

#### Short films and Documentaries

| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Information Film (Documentary) | The Flame Burns Bright | English | Producer: Ashish Mukherjee | Silver Medal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Information Film (Documentary) | The Flame Burns Bright | English | Director: Ashish Mukherjee | Silver Medal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Educational / Instructional Film | Sath Kutch Na Jayega | Hindi | Producer: Dhiru Mistry | Silver Medal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Educational / Instructional Film | Sath Kutch Na Jayega | Hindi | Director: Sureshwar Singh | Silver Medal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Film on Social Documentation | Land of Krishna | English | Producer: G. L. Bhardwaj | Silver Medal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Film on Social Documentation | Land of Krishna | English | Director: G. L. Bhardwaj | Silver Medal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Promotional Film (Commercial) | Delhi the City Beautiful | English | Producer: Jagdish Banerjee | Silver Medal |
| Best Promotional Film (Commercial) | Delhi the City Beautiful | English | Director: Jagdish Banerjee | Silver Medal |
| Best Promotional Film (Non-Commercial) | Fibre The Fabric of Life | English | Producer: Khadi and Village Industries Commission | Silver Medal |
| Best Promotional Film (Non-Commercial) | Fibre The Fabric of Life | English | Director: G. L. Bhardwaj | Silver Medal |
| Best Experimental Film | Homi Bhabha - A Scientist in Action | English | Producer: Jagat Murari | Silver Medal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Experimental Film | Homi Bhabha - A Scientist in Action | English | Director: K. Vishwanath | Silver Medal and ₹4,000 |

### Awards not given

Following were the awards not given as no film was found to be suitable for the award:
* Best Film on Family Welfare
* Best Children's Film
* Lyric Writer of the Best Film Song on National Integration
* Best Female Playback Singer
* Best Animation Film
* President's silver medal for Best Feature Film in English
* President's silver medal for Best Feature Film in Manipuri
* President's silver medal for Best Feature Film in Marathi
* President's silver medal for Best Feature Film in Oriya
* President's silver medal for Best Feature Film in Punjabi
* President's silver medal for Best Feature Film in Telugu

## Explanatory notes

* ↑ P. J. Antony (Leading Actor) and Sumithra (Leading Actress) were awarded with the souvenir.
* ↑ Amrish Puri (Leading Actor) and Nandini Bhaktavatsala (Leading Actress) were awarded with the souvenir.
* ↑ Geeta Siddharth (Leading Actress) was awarded with the souvenir.