All the winners from India’s 68th National Film Awards: 'Soorarai Pottru' wins big

India's screen stars dazzled at the 68th National Film Awards — as Tamil title Soorarai Pottru (Hail the Brave) was crowned Best Film. The film was inspired by the story of GR Gopinath, the man who founded Simplifly Deccan — India’s first budget airline. Released on Amazon Prime Video in November 2020, the film stars Suriya, Aparna Balamurali and Paresh Rawal. Suriya picked up the award for Best Actor at the annual awards, sharing it with Bollywood star Ajay Devgn for his part in period drama Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. Aparna Balamurali picked up Best Actress for her role in the same film. Soorarai Pottru also won Best Background Score and Best Screenplay. It was a big night for South Indian film with Madonne Ashwin taking the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director for his political satire Mandela, which is streaming on Netflix. And Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum picked up three accolades, including Best Feature Film in Tamil. Kerala tribal woman Nanchamma also made the honour list. The 62-year-old folk singer took home the National Award for India’s best singer for her work on Ayyappanum Koshiyum. Established in 1954, the prestigious film awards are administered by the Government of India’s Directorate of Film Festivals. This year’s event recognised films released in 2020, across several categories. Legendary filmmaker Vipul Shah headed the jury for the feature film category while non-feature films were overseen by Chitrartha Singh. Journalist Anant Vijay chaired the Best Writing on Cinema category. Information and Broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur thanked all the jury members and those working in India’s film industry. “I want to congratulate all the jury members and all those people whose work was reviewed and would like to congratulate those recipients who will be awarded with the National Film Awards,” said Thakur. Best Feature Film: Soorarai Pottru Best Director: Sachy for Ayyappanum Koshiyum Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Tanhaji Best Actor: Suriya for Soorarai Pottru and Ajay Devgn for Tanhaji Best Actress: Aparna Balamurali for Soorarai Pottru Best Supporting Actor: Biju Menon for Ayyappanum Koshiyam Best Supporting Actress: Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli for Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum Best Screenplay: Soorarai Pottru Best Screenplay (dialogue writer): Madonne Ashwin for Mandela Best Music Direction (songs): Thaman S for Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo Best Music Direction (background music): GV Prakash for Soorarai Pottru Best Male Playback Singer: Rahul Deshpande for Me Vasantrao Best Female Playback Singer: Nanchamma for Ayyappanum Koshiyam Best Lyrics: Manoj Muntashir for Saina Best Audiography (location sound recordist): Jobin Jayan for Dollu Best Audiography (sound designer): Anmol Bhave for Me Vasantrao Best Audiography (re-recordist of the final mixed track): Vishnu Govind and Sree Sankar for Malik Best Choreography: Sandhya Raju for Natyam Best Cinematography: Supratim Bhol for Avijatrik Best Costume Design: Nachiket Barve and Mahesh Sherla for Tanhaji Best Production Design: Anees Nadodi for Kappela Best Editing: Sreekar Prasad for Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum Best Make-up: TV Rambabu for Natyam Best Stunt Choreography: Rajasekhar, Mafia Sasi and Supreme Sunder for Ayyappanum Koshiyum Best Hindi Film: Toolsidas Junior Best Kannada Film: Dollu Best Malayalam Film: Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam Best Tamil Film: Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum Best Telugu Film: Colour Photo Best Haryanvi Film: Dada Lakhmi Best Dimasa Film: Semkhor Best Tulu Film: Jeetige Best Marathi Film: Goshta Eka Paithanichi Best Bengali Film: Avijatrik Best Assamese Film: The Bridge

All the winners from India’s 68th National Film Awards: 'Soorarai Pottru' wins big

The Tamil flick scooped five awards during the star-studded night