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Tamil movie “Soorarai Pottru” bagged national awards for the Best Feature Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Background Score and the Best Screenplay at the 68th National Film Awards-2020.

Highlights:

• The Unsung Warrior” won the awards in the Best Actor, which went to Ajay Devgn, and for the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment categories.
• Devgn shared the Best Actor award with Suriya, who got the recognition for “Soorarai Pottru”, which has been directed by Sudha Kongara.
• Aparna Balamurali won the Best Actress award for her performance in the Tamil film, which also got the awards in the Best Background Score (GV Prakash Kumar), and the Best Screenplay (Shalini Usha Nair and Sudha Kongara).
• Late Sachidanandan KR has got the Best Director award for Malayalam movie, AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum, while the Best Female Playback Singer prize went to Nanchamma for the same movie.
• Rahul Deshpande was adjudged the Best Male Playback Singer.
• Testimony of Ana bagged the Best Non-Feature Film award. Manoj Muntashir has won the award for Best Lyrics for the Hindi movie ‘Saina’.
• Madhya Pradesh has been given the Most Film Friendly State award, while Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh has received a special mention.
• “The Longest Kiss” by Kishwar Desai was declared the Best Book on Cinema for the year, while Malayalam book “MT Anubhavangalude Pusthakam” and Odia book ‘Kali Paine Kalira Cinema” got a special mention.

Kannada films bag four awards at the 68th National Film Awards

• Late actor Sanchari Vijay’s last film Taledanda, won the Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation. Filmmaker Praveen Krupakar dedicated the award to Sanchari Vijay, who plays a mentally-challenged person trying to save trees in the film.
• Auteur filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli’s documentary on renowned Hindustani vocalist Pt. Venkatesh Kumar Naada Navaneeta: Venkatesh Kumar has been adjudged the Best Arts and Culture Film. The documentary has been produced by the Department of Information and Public Relations, Karnataka.
• Sagar Puranik’s debut feature film of 2021 Dollu has won the Best Kannada Film award, apart from bagging an award for Best Audiography in Feature Films. The film examines the effects of globalisation and urbanisation on folk art forms like Dollu Kunita.

• Jeetige (Deevatige-traditional torch), directed by Santhosh Mada, with Naveen D. Padil as the lead actor won the award for Best Tulu Film. The film was based on COVID-19 pandemic wherein a Daivaradhane Paathri (spirit worshiper) eagerly awaits the return of his son working on a ship that was stranded somewhere due to the pandemic. The movie depicts the ordeal of the common man during the pandemic.