# 67th National Film Awards

The 67th National Film Awards were announced at a press meet on 22 March 2021 to honour the best Indian films certified in India between 1 January and 31 December 2019. The awards ceremony, at which the Directorate of Film Festivals presents its annual National Film Awards to honour the best in Indian cinema, was originally slated to be held on 3 May 2020. It was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was presented on 25 October 2021.

## Selection process

The Directorate of Film Festivals invited online entries and the acceptable last date for entries was until 17 February 2020. Feature and Non-Feature Films certified by Central Board of Film Certification between 1 January 2019, and 31 December 2019, were eligible for the film award categories. Books, critical studies, reviews or articles on cinema published in Indian newspapers, magazines, and journals between 1 January 2019, and 31 December 2019, were eligible for the best writing on cinema section. Entries of dubbed, revised or copied versions of a film or translation, abridgements, edited or annotated works and reprints were ineligible for the awards.
For the Feature and Non-Feature Films sections, films in any Indian language, shot on 16 mm, 35 mm, a wider film gauge or a digital format, and released in cinemas, on video or digital formats for home viewing were eligible. Films were required to be certified as a feature film, a featurette or a Documentary/Newsreel/Non-Fiction by the Central Board of Film Certification.

## Dadasaheb Phalke Award

Introduced in 1969, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the highest award given to recognise the contributions of film personalities towards the development of Indian cinema and for distinguished contributions to the medium, its growth and promotion."
A committee consisting five eminent personalities from Indian film industry was appointed to evaluate the lifetime achievement award, Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Following were the jury members:
* Jury Members
* • Asha Bhosle
* • Subhash Ghai
* • Mohanlal
* • Shankar Mahadevan
* • Biswajit Chatterjee
| Name of Award | Image | Awardee(s) | Awarded as | Awards |
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award | | Rajinikanth | Actor | Swarna Kamal, ₹1 million (US$12,000) and a shawl |

## Best Film Friendly State

The awards aim at encouraging study and appreciation of cinema as an art form and dissemination of information and critical appreciation of this art-form through a State Government Policy.

### Jury

* Shaji N. Karun (Chairperson) :
| • Manju Borah | • Ravi Kottarakara |
| • Ravi Kottarakara | • Firdausul Hasan |
| • Firdausul Hasan | • Abhishek Shah |
| Award | Name of State | Citation |
| Best Film Friendly State | State of Sikkim | |

## Feature films
### Jury

| Jury Panel | Central | North | South-1 | South-2 | East | West |
| Chairperson | N. Chandra | Manju Borah | Arunoday Sharma | Subhash Sehgal | G P Vijayakumar | C Umamaheswara Rao |
| Members | C. Umamaheswara Rao | Sasidharan Pillai | Pampally | Prashant Naik | Rajesh Kumar Singh | Christopher Dalton |
| | Manju Borah | Anuradha Singh | Vinod Mankara | Nidhi Prasad | Maniram Singh | GK Desai |
| | Bijaya Jena | Adeep Tandon | Saran | Prakash HB | Ajaya Routray | Dnyanesh Moghe |
| | Dilip Shukla | Atul Pandey | K. Umamaheswara Rao | Rajendra Prasad Choudrie | Arijit Halder | Sanjay Khanzode |

### Golden Lotus Awards

Official Name: Swarna Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film | Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea | Malayalam | Producer: Antony Perumbavoor Director: Priyadarshan | ₹250,000 each |
| Best Direction | Bahattar Hoorain (72 Hoorain) | Hindi | Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan | ₹250,000 each |
| Best Debut Film of a Director | Helen | Malayalam | Producer: Vineeth Sreenivasan Director: Mathukutty Xavier | ₹125,000 each |
| Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Maharshi | Telugu | Producer: Sri Venkateswara Creations Vyjayanthi Movies PVP Cinema Director: Vamshi Paidipally | ₹200,000 each |
| Best Children's Film | Kastoori | Hindi | Producer : Insight Films Director: Vinod Uttreshwar Kamble | ₹150,000 each |

### Silver Lotus Award

Official Name: Rajat Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film on National Integration | Tajmal | Marathi | Producer: Tuline Studios Pvt. Ltd. Director: Niyaz Mujawar | ₹150,000 each |
| Best Film on Other Social Issues | Anandi Gopal | Marathi | Producer: Essel Vision Productions Ltd. Freshlime Films LLP Namah Pictures Pvt. Ltd. Director: Sameer Vidwans | ₹150,000 each |
| Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation | Water Burial | Monpa | Producer: Faruque Iftikar Laskar Director: Shantanu Sen | ₹150,000 each |
| Best Actor | Bhonsle | Hindi | Manoj Bajpayee | ₹50,000 each |
| Best Actor | Asuran | Tamil | Dhanush | ₹50,000 each |
| Best Actress | Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi Panga | Hindi | Kangana Ranaut | ₹50,000 |
| Best Supporting Actor | Super Deluxe | Tamil | Vijay Sethupathi | ₹50,000 |
| Best Supporting Actress | The Tashkent Files | Hindi | Pallavi Joshi | ₹50,000 |
| Best Child Artist | KD | Tamil | Naga Vishal | ₹50,000 |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Kesari (For the song "Teri Mitti") | Hindi | B Praak | ₹50,000 |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Bardo (For the song "Raan Petala") | Marathi | Savani Ravindra | ₹50,000 |
| Best Cinematography | Jallikattu | Malayalam | Girish Gangadharan | ₹50,000 |
| Best Screenplay • Screenplay Writer (Original) | Jyeshthoputro | Bengali | Kaushik Ganguly | ₹50,000 |
| Best Screenplay • Screenplay Writer (Adapted) | Gumnaami | Bengali | Srijit Mukherji | ₹50,000 |
| Best Screenplay • Dialogues | The Tashkent Files | Hindi | Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri | ₹50,000 |
| Best Audiography • Location Sound Recordist | Iewduh | Khasi | Debajit Gayan | ₹50,000 |
| Best Audiography • Sound Designer | Trijya | Marathi | Mandar Kamalapurkar | ₹50,000 |
| Best Audiography • Re-recordist of the Final Mixed Track | Oththa Seruppu Size 7 | Tamil | Resul Pookutty | ₹50,000 |
| Best Editing | Jersey | Telugu | Naveen Nooli | ₹50,000 |
| Best Production Design | Anandi Gopal | Marathi | Sunil Nigwekar Nilesh Wagh | ₹50,000 |
| Best Costume Design | Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea | Malayalam | Sujith Sudhakaran V. Sai | ₹50,000 |
| Best Make-up Artist | Helen | Malayalam | Ranjith | ₹50,000 |
| Best Music Direction • Songs | Viswasam | Tamil | D. Imman | ₹50,000 |
| Best Music Direction • Background Score | Jyeshthoputro | Bengali | Prabuddha Banerjee | ₹50,000 |
| Best Lyrics | Kolaambi (For the song "Arodum Parayuka Vayya") | Malayalam | Prabha Varma | ₹50,000 |
| Best Special Effects | Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea | Malayalam | Siddharth Priyadarshan | ₹50,000 |
| Best Choreography | Maharshi (For the song "Everest Anchuna") | Telugu | Raju Sundaram | ₹50,000 |
| Best Stunt Choreographer | Avane Srimannarayana | Kannada | Vikram More | ₹50,000 |
| Special Jury Award | Oththa Seruppu Size 7 | Tamil | R. Parthiban | ₹2,00,000 |
| Special Mention | Biriyaani | Malayalam | Sajin Babu (Director) | Certificate only |
| Special Mention | Jonaki Porua | Assamese | Benjamin Daimary (Actor) | Certificate only |
| Special Mention | Lata Bhagwan Kare | Marathi | Lata Kare (Actress) | Certificate only |
| Special Mention | Picasso | Marathi | Abhijeet Mohan Warang (Director) | Certificate only |

### Regional awards

National Film Awards are also given to the best films in the regional languages of India. Awards for the regional languages are categorised as per their mention in the Eighth schedule of the Constitution of India. Awardees included producers and directors of the film. No films in languages other than those specified in the Schedule VIII of the Constitution were eligible.
| Award | Film | Awardee(s) | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Award | Film | Producer | Director | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film in Assamese | Ronuwa - Who Never Surrender | Bornali Creative Vision Entertainment | Chandra Mudoi | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Bengali | Gumnaami | SVF Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. | Srijit Mukherji | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Hindi | Chhichhore | • Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment • Fox Star Studios | Nitesh Tiwari | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Kannada | Akshi | Kalaadegula Studio | Manoj Kumar | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Konkani | Kaajro | de Goan Studio | Nitin Bhaskar | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Malayalam | Kalla Nottam | First Print Studios | Rahul Riji Nair | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Manipuri | Eigi Kona | Luwang Apokpa Mamikol Production | • Bobby Wahengbam • Haorongbam | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Odia | Sala Budhar Badla | New Generation Films | Sabyasachi Mohapatra | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Odia | Kalira Atita | Eleeanora Images Pvt. Ltd. | Nila Madhab Panda | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Marathi | Bardo | Ritu Films Cut LLP | Bhimrao Mude | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Punjabi | Rabb Da Radio 2 | Vehli Janta Films | Sharandeep Singh | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Tamil | Asuran | V Creations | Vetrimaaran | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Telugu | Jersey | Sithara Entertainments | Gowtam Tinnanuri | ₹1,00,000 each |

#### Best Feature Film in Each of the Language Other Than Those Specified In the Schedule VIII of the Constitution

| Award | Film | Awardee(s) | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Award | Film | Producer | Director | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film in Chattisgarhi | Bhulan The Maze | Swapnil Film Productions | Manoj Verma | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Haryanvi | Chhoriyan Chhoron Se Kam Nahi Hoti | • Vision Productions Limited • Satish Kaushik Entertainment | Rajesh Amar Lal Babbar | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Khasi | Iewduh | Shiven Arts | Pradip Kurbah | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Mising | Anu Ruwad | Obonori Pictures | Dilip Kumar Doley | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Paniya | Kenjira | Neru Films | Manoj Kana | ₹1,00,000 each |
| Best Feature Film in Tulu | Pingara | DMR Productions | R. Preetham Shetty | ₹1,00,000 each |

## Non-Feature Films

Short Films made in any Indian language and certified by the Central Board of Film Certification as a documentary/newsreel/fiction are eligible for non-feature film section.

### Jury

* Arun Chaddha (Chairman) :
| • Sesino Yhoshü | • Meena Longjam |
| • Sriprakash Menon | • Sushil Rajpal |
| • Harish Bhimani | • Sanjib Parasar |

### Golden Lotus Award

Official Name: Swarna Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Non-Feature Film | An Engineered Dream | Hindi | Hemant Gaba | ₹1,50,000 each |
| Best Director in Non-Feature Film | Knock Knock Knock | English Bengali | Sudhanshu Saria | ₹1,50,000 |

### Silver Lotus Award

Official Name: Rajat Kamal
All the Awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)' and cash prize.
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Debut Non-Feature Film of A Director | Khisa | Marathi | Producer : Santosh Maithani Director: Raj Pritam More | ₹ 75,000/- each |
| Best Biographical Film | Elephants Do Remember | English | Producer: Films Division Director: Swati Pandey Viplove Rai Bhatia Manohar Singh Bisht | ₹ 50,000/- each |
| Best Arts / Cultural Film | Shrikshetra Ru Sahijata | Odia | Director and Producer: Ashutosh Pattnaik | ₹ 50,000/- each |
| Best Environment Film | The Stork Saviours | Hindi | Producer: Rajiv Mehrotra PSBT Director: Ajay Bedi Vijay Bedi | ₹ 50,000/- each |
| Best Promotional Film | The Shower | Hindi | Producer: Little Lamb Films Pvt. Ltd. Director: Bauddhayan Mukherji | ₹ 50,000/- each |
| Best Film on Social Issues | Holy Rights | Hindi | Producer: Priyanka Pradeep More Director: Farha Khatun Producer & Director: Sudipta Kundu | ₹ 50,000/- each |
| Best Educational Film | Apples and Oranges | English | Producer: LXL Ideas Private Limited Director: Rukshana Tabassum | ₹ 50,000/- each |
| Best Ethnographic Film | Charan - Atva the Essene of Being A Nomad | Gujarati | Producer: Films Division Director: Dinaz Kalwachwala | ₹ 50,000/- each |
| Best Exploration Film | Wild Karnataka | English | Producer: Amoghavarsha J. S. Director: Amoghavarsha J. S. Kalyan Varma Sarath Champati Vijaya Mohan Raj | ₹ 50,000/- each |
| Best Investigative Film | Jakkal | Marathi | Producer: Neon Reel Creation Director: Vivek Wagh | ₹ 50,000/- each |
| Best Animation Film | Radha (Musical) | | Producer: Fairy Cows Director: Bimal Poddar Animator: Nitin Kharkar | ₹ 50,000/- each |
| Best Short Fiction Film | Custody | English Hindi | Producer & Director: Ambiecka Pandit | ₹ 50,000/- each |
| Best Film on Family Values | Oru Paathiraa Swapnam Pole | Malayalam | Producer: Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute Director: Sharan Venugopal | ₹ 50,000/- each |
| Best Cinematography | Sonsi | Hindi | Savita Singh | ₹ 50,000/- each |
| Best Audiography | Radha (Musical) | | Re-recordist (final mixed track): Allwin Rego Sanjay Maurya | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best On-Location Sound Recordist | Rahas | Hindi | Saptarshi Sarkar | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Editing | Shut Up Sona | Hindi English | Arjun Gourisaria | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Music Direction | Kranti Darshi Guruji - Ahead of Times | Hindi | Bishakh jyoti | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Narration / Voice Over | Wild Karnataka | English | David Attenborough | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Special Jury Award | Small Scale Societies | English | Vipin Vijay | ₹ 1,00,000/- |

## Best Writing on Cinema

The awards aim at encouraging study and appreciation of cinema as an art form and dissemination of information and critical appreciation of this art-form through publication of books, articles, reviews etc.

### Jury

A committee of three, headed by Utpal Borpujari was appointed to evaluate the nominations for the best writing on Indian cinema. The jury members were as follows:
* Saibal Chatterjee (Chairman) :
| • Raghavendra Patil | • Rajeev Masand |

### Golden Lotus Award

Official Name: Swarna Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with the Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal) accompanied with a cash prize.
| Award | Book | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Book on Cinema | A Gandhian Affair: India's Curios Portrayal of Love in Cinema | Malayalam | Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India Author: Sanjay Suri | ₹ 75,000/- each |
| Best Film Critic | — | English | Sohini Chattopadhyay | ₹ 75,000/- |

### Special Mention

All the awardees are awarded with a certificate.
| Award | Book | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Book on Cinema | Cinema Pahanara Manus | Marathi | Ashok Rane | Certificate Only |
| Book on Cinema | Kannada Cinema:Jagathika Cinema Vikasa Prerane Prabhava | Kannada | P. R. Ramadasa Naidu | Certificate Only |