# 17th National Film Awards

The 17th National Film Awards were presented by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India to facilitate the best of Indian cinema released in 1969. The ceremony took place at University Centenary Auditorium, Madras on 21 November 1970.
At the 17th National Film Awards, a new award was introduced to honour the father of Indian cinema, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, better known as Dadasaheb Phalke. Named the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, it was introduced to recognise the contribution of film personalities towards the development of Indian cinema. Starting with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Phalke in 1870, the award was awarded annually for this distinguished contribution.

## Juries

Six different committees were formed based on the filmmaking sectors in India; along with the award categories, they were mainly based in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. Another committee for the All India level was also formed, which included some of the members from the regional committees. For the 17th National Film Awards, this central committee was headed by Justice G. D. Khosla.
* Jury Members: Central
** G. D. Khosla (Chairperson) • Sitaram Kesri • Shiela Vats • A. C. Jalan • Ezra Mir • B. K. Karanjia • Teji Bachchan • I. S. Johar • Haridas Bhattacharjee • U. Visweswar Rao • Sunder Lal Nahata • M. N. Kapur
* Jury Members: Documentary
** Tara Ali Baig (Chairperson) • Rashid-Ul-Talib • Kapila Vatsyayan • Usha Bhagat • Shanta Gandhi
* Jury Members: Short Films
** Amrita Pritam (Chairperson) • R. G. Anand • Inder Lal Das
* Jury Regional: Bombay
** Nissim Ezekiel (Chairperson) • Urmila Kapur • Navin Khandwalla • R. S. Pande • Firoze Rangoonwalla • Bikram Singh • Bal Chhabda • Shatrujit Paul • Buny Talwar • G. P. Shirke
* Jury Regional: Calcutta
** Amala Shankar (Chairperson) • Roma Choudhry • Chintamoni Kar • K. C. Panigrahi • A. K. Pramanick • Utpal Dutta • Kanan Devi • Kartic Chatterjee • Durgadas Mitra • Arti Tagore
* Jury Regional: Madras
** C. R. Pattabhiraman (Chairperson) • P. Achutha Menon • R. K. Narayan • Mallikarjuna Rao • Sarojini Varadappan • K. Manoharan • Rajammal Anantharaman • V. C. Subburaman • D. V. S. Raju • B. Ananthaswami

## Awards

Awards were divided into feature films and non-feature films.
The President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film is now better known as the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, whereas the 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, the Prime Minister's Gold Medal is now given as the National Film Award for Best Children's Film. At the regional level, the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film is now given as the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in a particular language. Certificates of Merit in all categories have been discontinued over the years.

### Lifetime Achievement Award

| Award | Image | Awardee(s) | Awarded As | Cash Prize |
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award | | Devika Rani Chaudhuri Roerich | Actress | ₹11,000, a shawl and a plaque |

### Feature films

Feature films were awarded at the All India as well as the regional level. For the 17th National Film Awards, a Bengali film Bhuvan Shome won the President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film while also winning the maximum number of awards (three).

#### All India awards

The awards given at the All India level were as follows:
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film | Bhuvan Shome | Hindi | Producer: Mrinal Sen | Gold Medal and ₹20,000 |
| Best Feature Film | Bhuvan Shome | Hindi | Director: Mrinal Sen | Gold Medal and ₹20,000 |
| Second Best Feature Film | Dibratrir Kabya | Bengali | Producer: M/s. Nabik Productions | ₹5,000 and a medal |
| Second Best Feature Film | Dibratrir Kabya | Bengali | Director: Bimal Bhowmick | ₹2,000 and a plaque |
| Second Best Feature Film | Dibratrir Kabya | Bengali | Director: Narayan Chakraborty | ₹2,000 and a plaque |
| Best Feature Film on National Integration | Saat Hindustani | Hindi | Producer: Khwaja Ahmad Abbas | ₹5,000 and a medal |
| Best Feature Film on National Integration | Saat Hindustani | Hindi | Director: Khwaja Ahmad Abbas | ₹5,000 and a medal |
| Best Actor (Bharat Award) | Bhuvan Shome | Hindi | Utpal Dutt | A figurine |
| Best Actress (Urvashi Award) | Dibratrir Kabya | Bengali | Madhabi Mukherjee | A figurine |
| Best Direction | Bhuvan Shome | Hindi | Mrinal Sen | ₹ 5,000 and a plaque |
| Best Music Direction | Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai | Punjabi | S. Mohinder | ₹ 5,000 and a plaque |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Aradhana (For the song "Safal Hogi Teri Aradhana") | Hindi | Sachin Dev Burman | A plaque |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Thunaivan | Tamil | K. B. Sundarambal | A plaque |
| Lyric Writer of the Best Film Song on National Integration | Saat Hindustani (For the song "Aandhi Aaye Ki Toofan") | Hindi | Kaifi Azmi | A plaque |
| Best Screenplay | Gejje Pooje | Kannada | S. R. Puttanna Kanagal | ₹5,000 and a plaque |
| Best Cinematography (Black and White) | Sara Akash | Hindi | K. K. Mahajan | ₹5,000 and a plaque |
| Best Cinematography (Color) | Shanti Nilayam | Tamil | Marcus Bartley | ₹5,000 and a plaque |
| Best Newcomer | Saat Hindustani | Hindi | Amitabh Bachchan | |

#### Regional awards

Some awards were given to the best films made in the various regional languages of India. For feature films in English, the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film was not given. The producer and director of the winning films were awarded with ₹5,000 and a Silver medal, respectively.
| Award | Film | Awardee(s) | Awardee(s) |
| Award | Film | Producer | Director |
| Best Feature Film in Assamese | Dr. Bezbarooah | M/s Rangghar Cine Productions | Brajen Baruah |
| Best Feature Film in Bengali | Natun Pata | M/s Gora Pictures | Dinen Gupta |
| Best Feature Film in Gujarati | Kanku | Kantilal Rathod | Kantilal Rathod |
| Best Feature Film in Hindi | Satyakam | Sher Jeng Singh Punchee | Hrishikesh Mukherjee |
| Best Feature Film in Kannada | Gejje Pooje | Chithra Jyothi | S. R. Puttanna Kanagal |
| Best Feature Film in Malayalam | Adimakal | M. O. Joseph | K. S. Sethumadhavan |
| Best Feature Film in Marathi | Tambdi Mati | Lilabai Bhalji Pendharkar | Bhalji Pendharkar |
| Best Feature Film in Oriya | Adina Megha | Babulal Doshi | Amit Maitra |
| Best Feature Film in Punjabi | Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai | Pannalal Maheshwary | Ram Maheshwary |
| Best Feature Film in Tamil | Iru Kodugal | N. Selvaraj | K. Balachander |
| Best Feature Film in Tamil | Iru Kodugal | B. Doraisamy | K. Balachander |
| Best Feature Film in Tamil | Iru Kodugal | N. Krishan | K. Balachander |
| Best Feature Film in Tamil | Iru Kodugal | V. Govindarajan | K. Balachander |
| Best Feature Film in Telugu | Aadarsa Kutumbam | N. Trivikrama Rao | Adurthi Subba Rao |

### Non-Feature films

Awards were also given to numerous short films.
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Information Film (Documentary) | Amrita Sher-Gil | English | Producer: B. D. Garga | ₹5,000 and a medal |
| Best Information Film (Documentary) | Amrita Sher-Gil | English | Director: B. D. Garga | ₹5,000 and a medal |
| Best Educational / Instructional Film | Life | English | Producer: K. L. Khandpur for Films Division | ₹5,000 and a medal |
| Best Educational / Instructional Film | Life | English | Director: S. Gangooii | ₹2,000 and a plaque |
| Best Animation Film | Umbrella | English | Producer: G. K. Gokhale for Films Division | ₹5,000 and a medal |
| Best Animation Film | Umbrella | English | Director: B. R. Shendge | ₹2,000 and a plaque |
| Best Promotional Film (Commercial) | Weave Me Some Flowers | English | Producer: Mohan Wadhwani for Films Division | A medal only |
| Best Promotional Film (Commercial) | Weave Me Some Flowers | English | Director: P. B. Pendharkar | A plaque only |

### Awards not given

Some awards were not given because no film was considered suitable:
* Best Story Writer
* Best Film on Family Welfare
* Best Children's Film
* Best Child Artist
* Best Film on Social Documentation
* Best Experimental Film
* Best Promotional Film (Non-Commercial)
* President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in English