Mithun Chakraborty, Neena Gupta, Ayan Mukerji, Rishab Shetty and Manoj Bajpayee were among the celebrities felicitated by President Droupadi Murmu on October 8 at the 70th National Film Awards ceremony in New Delhi.
Actor Mithun Chakraborty was honoured with India's highest film honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, during the event for his contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema over the years.
Mithun made his Hindi film debut in 1976 with Mrinal Sen's art-house film Mrigayaa, for which he won the best actor award at the National Film Awards ceremony that year. He received his second National Film Award for the Bengali movie Tahader Katha in 1992. In 1995, Mithun bagged his third National Film Award for his portrayal of Shree Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in the biographical drama film Swami Vivekananda. The 74-year-old actor’s latest sci-fi actioner Shastri was released in theatres on October 8.
Rishab Shetty received the best actor trophy for his role in the Kannada action thriller Kantara, which was also written and directed by him. IMDb shared a video paying tribute to the actor, who is currently working on Kantara: Chapter 1, a prequel to the 2022 blockbuster.
Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor’s Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva, directed by Ayan and backed by Karan Johar, won the best film award in the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics) category. Composer Pritam bagged the award for best music director for the film, while Arijit Singh won the best singer award for the romantic track Kesariya. Sharing a picture with Ayan, Karan said that the day was particularly special as it also marked Dharma Productions’ 44th anniversary.
Neena Gupta won the best actress in a supporting role award for her portrayal of Shabina Siddiqui in Sooraj Barjatya’s 2022 adventure drama film Uunchai, also starring Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Danny Denzongpa and Parineeti Chopra. Neena had previously won the National Film Award in 1993 for Bazar Sitaram and in 1994 for Woh Chokri.
Congratulating her mother, Masaba Gupta wrote, “Will tell my baby NaniJi is the coolest and was winning National Awards since 1994 with flowers in her hair.” The 34-year-old fashion designer-turned-Netflix star revealed in April that she and her husband Satyadeep Mishra are expecting their first child.
Actor Manoj Bajpayee got a special mention for his performance in the Disney+ Hotstar film Gulmohar, which also bagged the best Hindi feature film award. Also starring Sharmila Tagore, Gulmohar is a family drama directed by Rahul V. Chittella.
Composer A.R. Rahman won the best background music award for Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1, which also bagged the best Tamil feature film award. PS:1 features an ensemble star cast including Aishwarya Rai, Vikram and Sobhita Dhulipala. “Grateful to receive the Best Music Direction award at the 70th National Film Awards for Ponniyin Selvan - Part I. Honoured by the recognition and humbled to share this moment with the incredible team that brought this epic to life,” wrote Rahman, sharing a video on social media.
Aattam director Anand Ekarshi, Fouja star Pavan Raj Malhotra, Thiruchitarambalam’s Nithiya Menen and the Kutch Express actress Manasi Parekh were among the other winners, first announced in August this year.
