# 8th National Film Awards

The 8th 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 1960. Ceremony took place at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 31 March 1961 and awards were given by then Vice-President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
Starting with 8th National Film Awards, new category of awards for Educational Films was introduced. This category includes Prime Minister's gold medal and Certificate of Merit for second and third best educational film.

## 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 8th National Film Awards, a Hindi film Anuradha won the President's gold medal for the All India Best Feature Film. Following were the awards given:

#### All India Award

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 | Anuradha | Hindi | Producer: Hrishikesh Mukherjee | Gold Medal and ₹20,000 |
| President's gold medal for the All India Best Feature Film | Anuradha | Hindi | Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee | ₹5,000 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for Second Best Feature Film | Kshudhita Pashan | Bengali | Producer: Hemen Ganguly | Certificate of Merit and ₹10,000 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for Second Best Feature Film | Kshudhita Pashan | Bengali | Director: Tapan Sinha | ₹2,500 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film | Deivapiravi | Tamil | Producer: Kamal Brothers Pvt Ltd | Certificate of Merit only |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film | Deivapiravi | Tamil | Director: R. Krishnan | Certificate of Merit only |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film | Deivapiravi | Tamil | Director: S. Panju | Certificate of Merit only |
| Prime Minister's gold medal for the Best Children's Film | Phool Aur Kaliyan | Hindi | Producer: Rajkamal Kalamandir | Gold Medal and ₹20,000 |
| Prime Minister's gold medal for the Best Children's Film | Phool Aur Kaliyan | Hindi | Director: Ram Gabale | ₹5,000 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Children's Film | Idd Mubarak | Hindi | Producer: Children's Film Society | Certificate of Merit and ₹10,000 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Children's Film | Idd Mubarak | Hindi | Director: Khwaja Ahmad Abbas | ₹2,500 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Children's Film | Delhi Ki Kahani | Hindi | Producer: Children's Film Society | Certificate of Merit only |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Children's Film | Delhi Ki Kahani | Hindi | Director: Rajendra Kumar | Certificate of Merit only |

#### Regional Award

The awards were given to the best films made in the regional languages of India. With 8th National Film Awards, new award category was introduced for the feature films made in Gujarati and Odia language. These newly introduced categories includes President's silver medal for Best Feature Film and Certificate of Merit for second and third best film in both the languages, although former was not given for Gujarati language as no film was found suitable for the award. Along with Gujarati, President's silver medal for Best Feature Film was also not given in Kannada language, instead Certificate of Merit was awarded. No awards were given in Assamese and Malayalam language as no film was found to be suitable.
| Award | Film | Awardee(s) | Awardee(s) |
| Award | Film | Producer | Director |
| Feature Films in Bengali ||||
| President's silver medal for Best Feature Film | Devi | Satyajit Ray | Satyajit Ray |
| Certificate of Merit | Ganga | Cine Art Production Pvt Ltd. | Rajen Tarafdar |
| Feature Films in Gujarati ||||
| Certificate of Merit | Mendi Rang Lagyo | Bipin Gajjar | Manhar Raskapur |
| Feature Films in Hindi ||||
| President's silver medal for Best Feature Film | Mughal-e-Azam | K. Asif | K. Asif |
| Certificate of Merit | Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai | Ranbir Raj Kapoor | Radhu Karmakar |
| Certificate of Merit | Kanoon | B. R. Chopra | B. R. Chopra |
| Feature Films in Kannada ||||
| Certificate of Merit | Bhakta Kanakadasa | D. R. Naidu | Y. R. Swami |
| Feature Films in Marathi ||||
| President's silver medal for Best Feature Film | Kanyadan | Surel Chitra | Madhav Shinde |
| Certificate of Merit | Umaj Padel Tar | Narayan Baburao Kamat | Dinkar D. Patil |
| Feature Films in Odia ||||
| President's silver medal for Best Feature Film | Sri Lokenath | Rupa Raga Pvt Ltd. | Prafulla Kumar Sengupta |
| Feature Films in Tamil ||||
| President's silver medal for Best Feature Film | Parthiban Kanavu | Jubilee Films Pvt Ltd. | D. Yoganand |
| Certificate of Merit | Paathai Theriyuthu Paar | Kumari Films Pvt Ltd. | Nemai Ghosh |
| Certificate of Merit | Kalathur Kannamma | AVM Productions | A. Bhimsingh |
| Feature Films in Telugu ||||
| President's silver medal for Best Feature Film | Mahakavi Kalidasu | Sarani Productions | K. Kameshwara Rao |
| Certificate of Merit | Sri Seetha Rama Kalyanam | N. A. T. Pvt Ltd. | N. Trivikrama Rao |

### Non-Feature films

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

#### Documentaries

| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| President's gold medal for the Best Documentary Film | Kangra and Kulu | English | Producer: Films Division | Gold Medal and ₹4,000 |
| President's gold medal for the Best Documentary Film | Kangra and Kulu | English | Director: N. S. Thapu | ₹1,000 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Documentary Film | Saga of Service | English | Producer: Films Division | Certificate of Merit and ₹2,000 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Documentary Film | Saga of Service | English | Director: Dilip Jamdar | ₹500 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Documentary Film | The Weavers | English | Director: F. R. Bilimoria | Certificate of Merit only |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Documentary Film | The Weavers | English | Producer: Films Division | Certificate of Merit only |

#### Educational films

| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
| Prime Minister's gold medal for the Best Educational Film | Pond Culture | English | Producer: Films Division | Gold Medal and ₹4,000 |
| Prime Minister's gold medal for the Best Educational Film | Pond Culture | English | Director: N. K. Issar | ₹1,000 |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Educational Film | Cotton | English | Producer: Films Division | Certificate of Merit only |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Educational Film | Cotton | English | Director: Krishna Kapil | Certificate of Merit only |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Educational Film | Wheat | English | Producer: Films Division | Certificate of Merit only |
| All India Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Educational Film | Wheat | English | Director: Krishna Kapil | 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 silver medal for Best Feature Film in Assamese
* President's silver medal for Best Feature Film in Kannada
* President's silver medal for Best Feature Film in Malayalam