# 7th National Film Awards

The 7th National Film Awards, then known as State Awards for Films, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1959. Ceremony took place at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 1 May 1960 and awards were given by then Vice-President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

## 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.

### Feature films

Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For the 7th National Film Awards, a Bengali film Apur Sansar won the President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film. Following were the awards given:

#### All India Award

For 7th National Film awards, none of the films were awarded from Documentary and Children's Films category as no film was found to be suitable, instead only Certificate of Merit was given. Following were the awards given in each category:
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film | Apur Sansar | Bengali | Producer: Satyajit Ray Pvt Ltd. | Gold Medal and ₹20,000 |
| President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film | Apur Sansar | Bengali | Director: Satyajit Ray | ₹5,000 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for Second Best Feature Film | Heera Moti | Hindi | Producer: Pravin Desai | Certificate of Merit and ₹10,000 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for Second Best Feature Film | Heera Moti | Hindi | Director: Krishnan Chopra | ₹2,500 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film | Sujata | Hindi | Producer: Bimal Roy | Certificate of Merit only |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film | Sujata | Hindi | Director: Bimal Roy | Certificate of Merit only |
| All India Certificate of Merit for Best Children's Film | Banyan Deer | English | Producer: Films Division | Certificate of Merit only |
| All India Certificate of Merit for Best Children's Film | Banyan Deer | English | Director: Ahmed Lateef | Certificate of Merit only |
| All India Certificate of Merit for Best Children's Film | Banyan Deer | English | Director: Shanti Verma | Certificate of Merit only |
| All India Certificate of Merit for Best Children's Film | Banyan Deer | English | Director: G. G. Saraiya | Certificate of Merit only |

#### Regional Award

The awards were given to the best films made in the regional languages of India. For 7th National Film Awards, President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film was not given in Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam language; instead Certificate of Merit was awarded in each particular language.
| Award | Film | Awardee(s) | Awardee(s) |
| Award | Film | Producer | Director |
| Feature Films in Assamese ||||
| President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film | Puberun | K. C. Roy | Prabhat Mukherjee |
| President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film | Puberun | Paji Doss | Prabhat Mukherjee |
| Feature Films in Bengali ||||
| Certificate of Merit | Bicharak | Arundhati Mukherjee | Prabhat Mukherjee |
| Feature Films in Hindi ||||
| President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film | Anari | Lachman B. Lulla | Hrishikesh Mukherjee |
| Feature Films in Kannada ||||
| Certificate of Merit | Jagat jyothi Basaweswara | G. S. S. Murthy | T. V. Singh Thakore |
| Feature Films in Malayalam ||||
| Certificate of Merit | Chathurangam | Capt. (Dr.) G. T. Joshua | J. D. Thottan |
| Certificate of Merit | Chathurangam | Capt. (Dr.) G. T. Joshua | D. V. Swamy |
| Feature Films in Tamil ||||
| President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film | Bhaaga Pirivinai | G. N. Velumani | A. Bhimsingh |
| Certificate of Merit | Veerapandiya Kattabomman | B. R. Panthalu | B. R. Panthalu |
| Certificate of Merit | Kalyana Parisu | Sarvashri S. Krishnamurthy | C. V. Sridhar |
| Certificate of Merit | Kalyana Parisu | T. Govindarajan | C. V. Sridhar |
| Certificate of Merit | Kalyana Parisu | C. V. Sridhar | C. V. Sridhar |
| Feature Films in Telugu ||||
| President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film | Nammina Bantu | Sambhu Films | Adurthi Subba Rao |
| Certificate of Merit | Maa Inti Mahalakshmi | Navashakthi Films Pvt Ltd. | Gutha Ramineedu |
| Certificate of Merit | Jayabheri | Vasireddy Narayana Rao | P. Pullaiah |

### Non-Feature films

Non-feature film awards were given for the documentaries made in the country. Following were the awards given:

#### Documentaries

| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Best Documentary Film | Kathakali | English | Producer: Films Division | Certificate of Merit and ₹2,000 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Best Documentary Film | Kathakali | English | Director: Mohan Wadhwani | ₹500 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Best Documentary Film | Mayurakshi Dam | Hindi | Producer: Films Division | Certificate of Merit only |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Best Documentary Film | Mayurakshi Dam | Hindi | Director: N. K. Issar | Certificate of Merit only |

### Awards not given

Following were the awards not given as no film was found to be suitable for the award:
* President's Gold Medal for the Best Documentary Film
* Prime Minister's Gold Medal for the Best Children's Film
* President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Bengali
* President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Kannada
* President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Malayalam
* President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Marathi