# 64th National Film Awards

The 64th National Film Awards was an award ceremony during which the Directorate of Film Festivals presents its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2016 in the Indian cinema. The awards were announced on 7 April 2017, and the ceremony was held on 3 May 2017.

## Selection process

The Directorate of Film Festivals invited online entries for the first time on 16 January 2017 and the acceptable last date for entries was until 21 January 2017. Feature and Non-Feature Films certified by Central Board of Film Certification between 1 January 2016, and 31 December 2016, 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 2016, and 31 December 2016, 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.

## 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 members
* • Madhur Bhandarkar (Chairperson)
* • Kaushik Ganguly
* • Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi
* • Mohan Kanda
| Award | Name of State | Citation |
| Best Film Friendly State | State of Uttar Pradesh | For implementing a unique film policy, taking into account that the film medium is not only about entertainment but is also a very important vehicle of employment, social awareness and cultural development. The State's Film Policy includes various measures to create a suitable environment, which not only invites shooting of films on a large scale in the State but also promotes other activities, which are related to various aspects of film production at the ground level, including financial incentives for filmmakers. |
| Best Film Friendly State – Special Mention | State of Jharkhand | To foster the film Industry and their endeavour to give incentives to filmmakers from across India. In addition to the above, the Film Policy also provides growth opportunities to the local filmmaking talent from within the State. |

### Golden Lotus Award

Official name: Swarna Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)'.

## 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
* • Manoj Kumar
* • Asha Bhosle
* • T. S. Nagabharana
* • Kamal Haasan
* • S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
| Name of Award | Image | Awardee(s) | Awarded As | Awards |
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award | | K. Viswanath | Filmmaker | Swarna Kamal, ₹1 million (US$11,000) and a shawl |

## Feature films

Feature films will be awarded at All India as well as regional level. Following will be the awards given in each category:

### Jury

For the Feature Film section, six committees were formed based on the different geographic regions in India. The two-tier evaluation process included a central committee and five regional committees. The central committee, headed by the director Priyadarshan, included the heads of each regional committee and five other jury members. At regional level, each committee consisted of one chief and four members. The chief and one non-chief member of each regional committee were selected from outside that geographic region. The table below names the jury members for the central and regional committees:
Central jury
* Priyadarshan (Chairperson) :
| • N. Chandra | • Vasant S. Sai |
| • K. J. Suresh | • Imo Singh |
| • Girish Mohite | • Deboshruti Roy Chowdhury |
| • C. V. Reddy | • P. C. Reddy |
| • Ashok Rane | • Devdas Chhottrey |
Northern region: (Bhojpuri, Dogri, English, Hindi, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Urdu)
* K. J. Suresh (Head) :
| • Rakesh Mittal | • Advaita Kala |
| • C. Umamaheswara Rao | • S. S. Bhakhoo |
Eastern region: (Assamese, Bengali, Oriya and North-Eastern dialects)
* Shyamaprasad (Head) :
| • Sanjeev Hazarika | • Tanushree Hazarika |
| • Girish Mohite | • Jagora Bandyopadhyay |
Western region: (Gujarati, Konkani, Marathi)
* N. Chandra (Head) :
| • Sanjay Pawar | • B. Diwakar |
| • Pramod Pawar | • Gopi Desai |
Southern region I: (Malayalam, Tamil)
* Imo Singh (Head) :
| • R. S. Vimal | • Balaji Sakthivel |
| • Suresh Chandra | • Priya Krishnaswamy |
Southern region II: (Kannada, Telugu)
* Vasant S. Sai (Head) :
| • G. Bhageeradha | • K. S. Ramesh |
| • H. N. Maruthi | • Aslam Sheikh |

### All India Award

Following will be the awards given:

#### Golden Lotus Award

Official name: Swarna Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.
| Name of Award | Name of Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film | Kaasav | Marathi | Director(s): Sumitra Bhave–Sunil Sukthankar Producer(s): • Sumitra Bhave–Sunil Sukthankar • Mohan Agashe | ₹ 250,000/- Each |
| Best Debut Film of a Director | Alifa | Bengali | Director: Deep Choudhury Producer: Arman Ahmed | ₹ 125,000/- Each |
| Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Sathamanam Bhavati | Telugu | Producer: V. Venkata Ramana Reddy Director: Satish Vegesna | ₹ 200,000/- Each |
| Best Children's Film | Dhanak | Hindi | Director: Nagesh Kukunoor Producer: Drishyam Films | ₹ 150,000/- Each |
| Best Direction | Ventilator | Marathi | Rajesh Mapuskar | ₹ 250,000/- |
| Best Animated Film | Mahayodha Rama | Hindi | Producer: Contiloe Pictures Pvt. Ltd. Director: Rohit Vaid Animator: Deepak S.V | ₹ 100,000/- Each |

#### Silver Lotus Award

Official name: Rajat Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.
| Name of Award | Name of Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film on National Integration | Dikchow Banat Palaax | Assamese | Producer: Canvascope Director: Sanjib Sabha Pandit | ₹ 150,000/- Each |
| Best Film on Other Social Issues | Pink | Hindi | Producer: Rashmi Sharma Films Director: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury | ₹ 150,000/- Each |
| Best Film on Environment/Conservation/Preservation | Loktak Lairembee | Manipuri | Producer and Director: Haobam Paban Kumar | ₹ 150,000/- Each |
| Best Actor | Rustom | Hindi | Akshay Kumar | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Actress | Minnaminungu | Malayalam | Surabhi Lakshmi | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Supporting Actor | Dashakriya | Marathi | Manoj Joshi | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Supporting Actress | Dangal | Hindi | Zaira Wasim | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Child Artist | Railway Children | Kannada | Manohara K | ₹ 50,000/- (Cash component to be shared) |
| Best Child Artist | Sahaj Paather Gappo | Bengali | • Nur Islam • Samiul Alam | ₹ 50,000/- (Cash component to be shared) |
| Best Child Artist | Kunju Daivam | Malayalam | Adish Praveen | ₹ 50,000/- (Cash component to be shared) |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Joker (For the song "Jasmine E") | Tamil | Sundarayyar | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Praktan (For the song "Tumi Jaake Bhalobasho") | Bengali | Iman Chakraborty | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Cinematography | 24 | Tamil | Tirru | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Screenplay • Screenplay Writer (Original) | Maheshinte Prathikaaram | Malayalam | Syam Pushkaran | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Screenplay • Screenplay Writer (Adapted) | Dashakriya | Marathi | Sanjay Krishnaji Patil | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Screenplay • Dialogues | Pelli Choopulu | Telugu | Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Audiography • Sound designer | Kaadu Pookkunna Neram | Malayalam | Jayadevan Chakka Dath | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Audiography • Re-recordist of the Final Mixed Track | Ventilator | Marathi | Alok De | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Editing | Ventilator | Marathi | Rameshwar S. Bhagat | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Production Design | 24 | Tamil | • Subrata Chakraborthy • Shreyas Khedekar • Amit Ray | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Costume Design | Cycle | Marathi | Sachin Lovalekar | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Make-up Artist | Allama | Kannada | NK Ramakrishna | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Music Direction • Songs | Allama | Kannada | Bapu Padmanabha | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Music Direction • Background Score | Allama | Kannada | Bapu Padmanabha | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Lyrics | Praktan (For the song "Tumi Jaake Bhalobasho") | Bengali | Anupam Roy | ₹ 50,000/- (Cash Component To Be Shared) |
| Best Lyrics | Dharma Durai (For the song "Entha Pakkam") | Tamil | Vairamuthu | ₹ 50,000/- (Cash Component To Be Shared) |
| Best Special Effects | Shivaay | Hindi | Naveen Paul | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Choreography | Janatha Garage | Telugu | Raju Sundaram | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Stunt Choreographer | Pulimurugan | Malayalam | Peter Hein | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Special Jury Award | • Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol • Janatha Garage • Pulimurugan | • Malayalam • Telugu • Malayalam | Mohanlal | ₹ 200,000/- |
| Special Mention | Kadvi Hawa | Hindi | Producer: Eleeanora Images Private Ltd. Director: Nila Madhab Panda | Certificate only |
| Special Mention | Mukti Bhawan | Hindi | Producer: Red Carper Moving Pictures Director: Shubhashish Bhutiani | Certificate only |
| Special Mention | • Mukti Bhawan • Maj Rati Keteki | Hindi Assamese | Adil Hussain | Certificate only |
| Special Mention | Neerja | Hindi | Sonam Kapoor | 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.
| Name of Award | Name of Film | Awardee(s) | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Name of Award | Name of Film | Producer(s) | Director | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film in Assamese | Maj Rati Keteki | Udara Films | Santwana Bardoloi | ₹ 100,000/- Each |
| Best Feature Film in Bengali | Bisarjan | M/s Opera | Kaushik Ganguly | ₹ 100,000/- Each |
| Best Feature Film in Gujarati | Wrong Side Raju | Cineman Productions Ltd. | Mikhil Musale | ₹ 100,000/- Each |
| Best Feature Film in Hindi | Neerja | Fox Star Studios India Pvt. Ltd. | Ram Madhvani | ₹ 100,000/- Each |
| Best Feature Film in Kannada | Reservation | Thotadamane | Nikhil Manjoo | ₹ 100,000/- Each |
| Best Feature Film in Konkani | K Sera Sera – Ghodpachem Ghoddtelem | de Goan Studio | Rajiv Shinde | ₹ 100,000/- Each |
| Best Feature Film in Malayalam | Maheshinte Prathikaaram | Dream Mill Cinemas and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. | Dileesh Pothan | ₹ 100,000/- Each |
| Best Feature Film in Marathi | Dashakriya | Rangneel Creations | Sandeep Bhalachandra Patil | ₹ 100,000/- Each |
| Best Feature Film in Tamil | Joker | Dream Warrior Pictures | Raju Murugan | ₹ 100,000/- Each |
| Best Feature Film in Telugu | Pelli Choopulu | Dharamapatha Creations and Big Ben Cinemas | Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam | ₹ 100,000/- Each |
Best Feature Film in Each of the Language Other Than Those Specified in the Schedule VIII of the Constitution
| Name of Award | Name of Film | Awardee(s) | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Name of Award | Name of Film | Producer | Director | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film in Moran | Haanduk | Mayamara Production | Jaicheng Jai Dohutia | ₹ 100,000/- Each |
| Best Feature Film in Tulu | Madipu | Aastha Production | Chetan Mundadi | ₹ 100,000/- 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

A committee of seven, headed by Raju Mishra, was appointed to evaluate the Non-Feature Films entries. The jury members were:
* Raju Mishra (Chairperson) :
| • Ashok Sharan | • M. C. Rajanarayanan |
| • M. Maniram | • Sanjeev Ratan |
| • Preethi Tripathi | • Sushmit Ghosh |

### Golden Lotus Award

Official name: Swarna Kamal
All awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.
| Name of Award | Name of Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Non-Feature Film | Fireflies in the Abyss | English | Producer: Chandrasekhar Reddy Director: Chandrasekhar Reddy | ₹ 100,000/- Each |
| Best Director in Non-Feature Film | Aaba... Aiktaay Na? | Marathi | Producer: Shri Mahalasa Productions Ponda Director: Aaditya Jambhale | ₹ 150,000/- to the Director |

### Silver Lotus Award

Official name: Rajat Kamal
All the Awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)' and cash prize.
| Name of Award | Name of Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best First Non-Feature Film | SOZ...A Ballad of Maladies | Hindi | Producer: Rajiv Mehrotra, PSBT Director: Tushar Madhav & Sarvnik Kaur | ₹ 50,000/- Each |
| Best Biographical Film / Best Historical Reconstruction / Compilation Film | Zikr Us Parivaksha: Begum Akhtar | Urdu | Producer: Sangeet Natak Akademi Director: Nirmal Chander | ₹ 50,000/- Each |
| Best Arts / Cultural Film | In the Shadow of Time | English | Producer: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Director: Shankhajeet Dey | ₹ 50,000/- Each (Cash Component to be shared) |
| Best Arts / Cultural Film | The Lord of the Universe | English | Producer and Director: Shibu Prusty | ₹ 50,000/- Each (Cash Component to be shared) |
| Best Environment Film including Best Agricultural Film | The Tiger Who Crossed The Line | English | Producer and Director: Krishnendu Bose | ₹ 50,000/- Each |
| Best Film on Social Issues | I am Jeeja | English | Producer: Rajiv Mehrotra Director: Swaty Chakraborty | ₹ 50,000/- Each (Cash Component to be shared) |
| Best Film on Social Issues | Sanath | Hindi | Producer: Priya Arun Director: Vasanth S. Sai | ₹ 50,000/- Each (Cash Component to be shared) |
| Best Educational / Motivational / Instructional Film | The Water Fall | English | Producer: Syed Sultan Ahmed Director: Lipika Singh Darai | ₹ 50,000/- Each |
| Best Exploration / Adventure Film | Matitali Kusti | Marathi | Producer: Madhavi Reddy Director: Prantik Vivek Deshmukh | ₹ 50,000/- Each |
| Best Investigative Film | Placebo | English | Producer: Archana Fadke Director: Abhay Kumar | ₹ 50,000/- Each |
| Best Animation Film | Hum Chitra Banate Hai | Hindi | Producer: IDC, IIT MUmbai Director: Nina Sabnani Animator: Piyush Varma And Shyam Sundar Chatterjee | ₹ 50,000/- Each |
| Best Short Fiction Film | Aaba | English | Producer: Raj Kumar Gupta Director: Amar Kaushik | ₹ 50,000/- Each |
| Best Film on Family Welfare | Little Magician | English | Producer: Syed Sultan Ahmed Director: Neha Sharma | ₹ 50,000/- Each |
| Best Cinematography | Kalpvriksha Adnyat | Hindi English | Cameraman:Alpesh Nagar Cameraman:Vishal Sangwai | ₹ 50,000/- Each |
| Best Audiography | In Return Just A Book | English | Ajith Abraham George | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Audiography • Location Sound Recordist | Remembering Kurdi | English | Christopher Bhurchell | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Editing | Gudh | English | Jishu Sen | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Music Direction | Leeches | Hindi, English | Tanuj Tiku | ₹ 50,000/- |
| Best Narration / Voice over | Makino | English | Setsu Makino Togawa | ₹ 50,000/- Each |
| Special Jury Award | The Cinema Travellers | English | Producer: Shirley Abraham Director: Shirely Abraham | ₹ 50,000/- Each |
| Special Mention | Chembai:Descoperire A Mei Unai Legende Chembai My discovery of a legend (Documentary) | English | Soumya Sadanandan | Certificate |
| Special Mention | Sikar Aru Sitkar | Assamese | Ramen Borah and Sibanu Borah | Certificate |
| Special Mention | The Eyes of Darkness | English | Amitabh Parashar | Certificate |

## 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 the National Award-winning writer Bhavana Somaya was appointed to evaluate the nominations for the best writing on Indian cinema. The jury members were as follows:
* Bhavana Somaya (Chairperson) :
| • Mohan V. Raman | • Prabhat Kumar |

### Golden Lotus Award

Official name: Swarna Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with the Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal) accompanied with a cash prize.
| Name of Award | Name of Book | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Best Book on Cinema | Sur Gatha | Hindi | Author: Yatindra Mishra Publisher: Vani Prakashan | ₹ 75,000/- Each |
| Best Film Critic | NA | English | G. Dhananjayan | ₹ 75,000/- |
| Special Mention (Book on Cinema) | A Fly in the Curry | English | Author: K.P. Jayashankar & Anjali Monteiro | Certificate Only |

## Controversy

There was controversy over the National Film Award for Best Actor, which the committee awarded to Akshay Kumar for his performance in Rustom, possibly over Aamir Khan's performance for Dangal. Committee member Priyadarshan, who has worked with Kumar on several films, gave the following explanation for not considering Khan for the award: "Why should we have given the Best Actor award to Aamir Khan when he has made it very clear that he doesn't attend awards functions?" He further noted that Kumar was "every bit as meritorious".