# 26th National Film Awards

The 26th 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 1978. Ceremony took place in April 1979.

## Juries

Two different committees were formed for feature films and short films, headed by Chetan Anand and Kironmoy Raha respectively.
* Jury Members: Feature Films
** Chetan Anand (Chairperson) • Sanjukta Panigrahi • Arvind Kumar • Manohar Shyam Joshi • Hameeduddin Mehmood
** Vinay Chandra Maudglaya • Bhisham Sahni • Jamuna • Vimla Patil • Satish Alekar • S. L. Bhyrappa • Naa Parthasarthy
** Nirad N. Mohapatra • G. L. Bhardwaj • Basu Bhattacharya • K. K. Nair
* Jury Members: Short Films
** Kironmoy Raha (Chairperson) • Aruna Vasudev • M. T. Vasudevan Nair

## Awards

Awards were divided into feature films and non-feature films.

### Lifetime Achievement Award

| Name of Award | Image | Awardee(s) | Awarded As | Awards |
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award | | Raichand Boral | Music director and Film director | Swarna Kamal, ₹40,000 and a Shawl |

### Feature films

Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 26th National Film Awards, no film was awarded the President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film. It is the only year for National Film Awards not to give away this award till now. A Hindi film Gaman, a Bengali film Parashuram and a Malayalam film Thampu won the maximum number of awards (three). Following were the awards given in each category:

#### All India Award

Following were the awards given:
| Name of Award | Name of Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film with Mass Appeal, Wholesome Entertainment and Aesthetic Value | Ganadevata | Bengali | Producer: Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Government of West Bengal | Swarna Kamal |
| Best Feature Film with Mass Appeal, Wholesome Entertainment and Aesthetic Value | Ganadevata | Bengali | Director: Tarun Majumdar | Rajat Kamal |
| Citation: For brilliant picturisation of modern literary classic. Like the novel, film succeeds in capturing a whole era in transition. Steering clear of both commercial vulgarisation and pretentiousness, the film uses all the cinematic, to effectively communicate to the masses. ||||
| Best Feature Film on National Integration | Grahana | Kannada | Producer: M/s. Harsha Pictures | Rajat Kamal and ₹30,000 |
| Best Feature Film on National Integration | Grahana | Kannada | Director: T. S. Nagabharana | Rajat Kamal and ₹10,000 |
| Citation: For an honest and bold depiction of caste conflict in rural India. The film starkly brings out the traditional beliefs which grip the entire rural society including the down-trodden putting an extra chain on the poor in addition to their economic helplessness. Cinematically a very powerful film. ||||
| Best Children's Film | Joi Baba Felunath | Bengali | Producer: R. D. Bansal | Swarna Kamal and ₹15,000 |
| Best Children's Film | Joi Baba Felunath | Bengali | Director: Satyajit Ray | Rajat Kamal and ₹10,000 |
| Citation: For the wit and craftsmanship used to synthesise a child's world of fantasy with an adult story of crime and detection. ||||
| Best Direction | Thampu | Malayalam | G. Aravindan | Rajat Kamal and ₹20,000 |
| Citation: For creating a truly director's film which effectively brings out the pathos and ennui in the life of village circus artists and their audience. ||||
| Best Screenplay | Grahana | Kannada | • T. S. Ranga • T. S. Nagabharana | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 Each |
| Citation: For maintaining taunt narrative line without resorting to melodrama and retaining a firm grip on the central idea in an action packed film. ||||
| Best Actor | Parasuram | Bengali | Arun Mukherjee | Rajat Kamal and ₹10,000 |
| Citation: For using mime, body language, laughter and silence to depict the central character in complete harmony with the overall style of the film. ||||
| Best Actress | Nimajjanam | Telugu | Sharada | Rajat Kamal and ₹10,000 |
| Citation: For a highly restrained performance and a sensitive non-verbal communication. ||||
| Best Child Artist | Ganadevata | Bengali | Kanchan De Biswas | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Citation: For being utterly himself. ||||
| Best Cinematography (Color) | Junoon | Hindi | Govind Nihalani | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Citation: For eloquent camera work which is equally effective both in romantic passages and battle sequences. The camera faultlessly brings out all the colour hues in various locations and differing light conditions. ||||
| Best Cinematography (Black and White) | Thampu | Malayalam | Shaji N. Karun | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Citation: For using the camera as a silent witness to the ironies of life. The reaction shots of circus audience taken unawares are in the best tradition of cinema-verite camera style. ||||
| Best Sound Recording | Junoon | Hindi | Hitendra Ghosh | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Citation: For clarity, fidelity and precision in recording music, speech and sound effects. ||||
| Best Editing | Parasuram | Bengali | Gangadhar Naskar | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Citation: For his bravura style of editing which is in complete harmony with the highly stylised treatment of the theme by the director. ||||
| Best Music Direction | Gaman | Hindi | Jaidev | Rajat Kamal and ₹10,000 |
| Citation: For using the traditional light classical and folk music of U.P. to convey the nostalgia of rural migrants lost in a city. Music in Gaman is an integral part of the film. ||||
| Best Male Playback Singer | Kaadu Kudre ("Kaadu Kudure Odi Banditta") | Kannada | Shimoga Subbanna | Rajat Kamal and ₹10,000 |
| Citation: For rendering the theme song "Kaadu Kudure" in a style which is at once vigorous and lyrical. ||||
| Best Female Playback Singer | Gaman ("Aap Ki Yaad Aati Rahi Raat Bhar") | Hindi | Chhaya Ganguly | Rajat Kamal and ₹10,000 |
| Citation: For a hauting rendition of Makhdun Mohluddin's famous ghazal "Aap Ki Yaad Aati Rahi Raat Bhar". The chastity of style, the purity of enunciation and the freshness of voice contribute to make it into a memorable song. ||||
| Special Mention | • Parasuram • Gaman | • Bengali • Hindi | • Mrinal Sen (Director) • Muzaffar Ali (Director) | Certificate Only |
| Citation: For their sensitive treatment of the problem of rural migrants to cities. ||||

#### Regional Award

The awards were given to the best films made in the regional languages of India. For feature films in Bengali, English, Hindi, Kashmiri, Meitei and Punjabi, award for Best Feature Film was not given.
| Name of Award | Name of Film | Awardee(s) | Awards |
| Best Feature Film in Bengali | Dooratwa | Producer: Buddhadeb Dasgupta | Rajat Kamal and ₹10,000 |
| Best Feature Film in Bengali | Dooratwa | Director: Buddhadeb Dasgupta | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Citation: For a sensitive depiction of a leftist middle class intellectual's marital conflict waiting for a revolution which does not materialise. |||
| Best Feature Film in Hindi | Kasturi | Producer: Bimal Dutt | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Feature Film in Hindi | Kasturi | Director: Bimal Dutt | Rajat Kamal and ₹2,500 |
| Citation: For a lyrical depiction of the elemental and eternal conflict between science and superstition. |||
| Best Feature Film in Hindi | Junoon | Producer: Shashi Kapoor | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Feature Film in Hindi | Junoon | Director: Shyam Benegal | Rajat Kamal and ₹2,500 |
| Citation: For overall technical virtuousity and successful evocation of a bygone era. |||
| Best Feature Film in Kannada | Ondanondu Kaladalli | Producer: L. N. Combines | Rajat Kamal and ₹10,000 |
| Best Feature Film in Kannada | Ondanondu Kaladalli | Director: Girish Karnad | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Citation: For delineating the code of warrior's ethics in a medieval setting with a modern vision. The film has excellent outdoor photography, high standard of acting and an eye-catching decor. |||
| Best Feature Film in Malayalam | Thampu | Producer: K. Ravindran Nair | Rajat Kamal and ₹10,000 |
| Best Feature Film in Malayalam | Thampu | Director: G. Aravindan | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Citation: For its cinematic virtousity and defiance of all narrative traditions of film making. |||
| Best Feature Film in Telugu | Nimajjanam | Producer: M/s Red Rose Art Films | Rajat Kamal and ₹10,000 |
| Best Feature Film in Telugu | Nimajjanam | Director: B. S. Narayana | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Citation: For a simple and restrained depiction of a dramatic theme, involving a woman's violation resulting in suicide. |||

### Non-Feature films

Following were the awards given:

#### Short films

| Name of Award | Name of Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Information Film | Rumtek - A Monastery Wrethed In A Hundred Thousand Rainbows | English | Producer: Romesh Sharma | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Information Film | Rumtek - A Monastery Wrethed In A Hundred Thousand Rainbows | English | Director: Romesh Sharma | Rajat Kamal and ₹4,000 |
| Citation: For an outstanding film in which all the elements are so perfectly blended to create an evocative and informative picture of the continuity of life at this beautiful monastery. ||||
| Best Educational / Instructional Film | The Magic Hands | English | Producer: M/s Little Cinema | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Educational / Instructional Film | The Magic Hands | English | Director: Santi P. Chowdhury | Rajat Kamal and ₹4,000 |
| Citation: For the controlled style of the filmmaker which lends special eloquence to the images of the faces and the hands as also the graceful bamboo they work with. ||||
| Best Promotional Film | It Is Indian It Is Good | Hindi | Producer: Films Division | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Best Promotional Film | It Is Indian It Is Good | Hindi | Director: B. D. Garga | Rajat Kamal and ₹4,000 |
| Citation: For an excellent script and direction supported by smooth editing and camera work with music that is judiciously selected and sparingly used. The film provides an imaginative survey of the magnitude, variety and quality of India's export production. ||||
| Best Newsreel Cameraman | Dawn Over Gurais (Indian News Review No. 1568) | English | C. L. Kaul | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Citation: For the lyrical realism of the camera with its perfectly matched tone and texture. ||||
| Best News Review | Uttar Pradesh Samachar 24 | Hindi | Director of Information and Public Relations, U.P. | Rajat Kamal and ₹5,000 |
| Citation: For its genuine effort to make disturbing human document out of the chaos of a frequent natural calamity. ||||
| Special Mention | The Burning Stone | English | Director: Loksen Lavnani for Films Division | Certificate only |
| Certificate only |||

### Awards not given

Following were the awards not given as no film was found to be suitable for the award:
* Best Feature Film
* Second Best Feature Film
* Best Story
* Best Film on Family Welfare
* Best Lyrics
* Best Film on Social Documentation
* Best Experimental Film
* Best Animation Film
* President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Assamese
* 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 Tamil