69th National Film Awards 2023: Good cinema gets acknowledged, says Sanjay Leela Bhansali; Pankaj Tripathi dedicates award to his late father — check reactions

69th National Film Awards 2023: The 69th National Film Awards for 2021 were announced on Thursday, August 24, by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The jury for the National Film Awards was led by filmmaker Ketan Mehta, who was joined by an 11-member jury. The awards are given to showcase Indian movies across all genres and languages that have made a significant impact on the craft of movie creation and storytelling.

The Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed periodic biopic 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' has bagged five awards, including the best actress honour for Alia Bhatt. Congratulating the other winners, Bhansali said, "I'm happy for everybody who has won... Good cinema gets acknowledged and a pat on the back from the government, and nationally and from a respectful jury, it always brings you joy." Adding to this, he said, "As far as cinema is celebrated from all over India, it is a wonderful moment for all of us. I'm too happy."

Actor Pankaj Tripathi bagged the best actor in a supporting role for his role in 'Mimi'. He dedicated his win to his late father, who recently passed away. He said in a statement, “This is unfortunately a period of loss and grieving for me. If Babuji was around, he would have been really happy for me. When I first got the National Award mention, he was very proud and pleased. This National Award I dedicate to him and his spirit. I'm who I'm today because of him.”

The actor also congratulated Kriti Sanon, who won the best actress award with Alia Bhatt, for her role in 'Mimi'. He said, "I'm at a loss of words due to this, but I'm happy and grateful to the team. Kriti also has won the Best Actress, so a huge congratulations to her."

The biographical history drama 'Sardar Udham' was awarded the best Hindi feature film. After the recognition, director Suijit Sircar said, "I'm thankful that the National Award jury has acknowledged it (film), they have given so much respect and love to the film. A film on this kind of revolutionary, Sardar Udham, which includes Bhagat Singh, and the Jallianwala (Bagh massacre) incident, and it somehow gets this recognition and respect. We remember films because of National Awards, and we also remember these films for a long time. I'm proud and honoured.”

When asked about the films that were released theatrically in 2022, winning the awards for the 2021 period, Additional Secretary of Information and Broadcasting, Neerja Sekhar, said, "As per the regulations, the eligible films were certified and released from 1st January 2021 to December 31, 2021."

With inputs from agencies

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