68th National Film Awards


The 68th National Film Awards ceremony was an event during which the Directorate of Film Festivals presented its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2020 in Indian cinema. The awards ceremony was originally slated to be held on 3 May 2021 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The winners were declared on 22 July 2022, and the awards were presented on 30 September 2022.

Selection process

The Directorate of Film Festivals invited online entries and the acceptable last date for entries was until 12 March 2021. Feature and Non-Feature Films certified by Central Board of Film Certification between 1 January 2020, and 31 December 2020, were eligible for the film award categories. Books, critical studies, reviews or articles on cinema published in Indian newspapers, magazines, and journals between 1 January 2020, and 31 December 2020, were eligible for the best writing on cinema section. Entries of dubbed, revised or copied versions of a film or translation, abridgements, edited or annotated works and reprints were ineligible for the awards.
For the feature and non-feature Films sections, films in any Indian language, shot on 16 mm, 35 mm, a wider film gauge or a digital format, and released in cinemas, on video or digital formats for home viewing were eligible. Films were required to be certified as a feature film, a featurette or a Documentary/Newsreel/Non-Fiction by the Central Board of Film Certification.

Best Film Friendly State

The awards aim at encouraging study and appreciation of cinema as an art form and dissemination of information and critical appreciation of this art-form through a State Government Policy.
;Jury
AwardName of StateCitation
Best Film Friendly StateState of Madhya Pradesh

Dadasaheb Phalke Award

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The recipient is honoured for their "outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema". The 2020 recipient is Asha Parekh.
Following were the jury members:
AwardImageAwardeeAwarded AsCash prize
Dadasaheb Phalke AwardAsha ParekhActress

Feature films

Golden Lotus Awards

Official Name: Swarna Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award ', a certificate and cash prize.
AwardFilmLanguageAwardeeCash prize
Best Feature FilmSoorarai PottruTamilProducer: 2D Entertainment Pvt.Ltd
Director: Sudha Kongara
₹250,000 each
Best DirectionAyyappanum KoshiyumMalayalamSachidanandan KR₹250,000
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome EntertainmentTanhaji: The Unsung WarriorHindiProducer: Ajay Devgn FFilms
Director: Om Raut
₹200,000 each
Best Children's FilmSumiMarathiProducer : Harshall Kamat Entertainment
Director:
Amol Vasant Gole
Writer: Sanjeev K Jha
₹150,000 each
Best Debut Film of a DirectorMandelaTamilMadonne Ashwin
Producer: YNOT Studios
₹125,000

Silver Lotus Award

Official Name: Rajat Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award ', a certificate and cash prize.
AwardFilmLanguageAwardeeCash prize
Best Film on Environment Conservation/PreservationTaledandaKannadaProducer: Krupanidhi Kreations
  • Hema Malini Krupakar
  • Arun Kumar R
Director: Praveen Krupakar
₹150,000 each
Best Film on Other Social IssuesFunralMarathiProducer: Before After Entertainment
Director: Vivek Dubey
₹150,000 each
Best ActorSoorarai PottruTamilSuriya₹50,000 each
Best ActorTanhaji: The Unsung WarriorHindiAjay Devgn₹50,000 each
Best ActressSoorarai PottruTamilAparna Balamurali₹50,000
Best Supporting ActorAyyappanum KoshiyumMalayalamBiju Menon₹50,000
Best Supporting ActressSivaranjiniyum Innum Sila PengalumTamilLakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli₹50,000
Best Child ArtistTak-TakMarathiAnish Mangesh Gosavi₹50,000 each
Best Child ArtistSumiMarathiAkanksha Pingle₹50,000 each
Best Child ArtistSumiMarathiDivyesh Indulkar₹50,000 each
Best Male Playback SingerMe VasantraoMarathiRahul Deshpande₹50,000
Best Female Playback SingerAyyappanum KoshiyumMalayalamNanjiyamma₹50,000
Best CinematographyAvijatrikBengaliSupratim Bhol₹50,000
Best Screenplay
Screenplay Writer
Soorarai PottruTamilSudha Kongara
Shalini Usha Nair
₹50,000
Best Screenplay
Dialogues
MandelaTamilMadonne Ashwin₹50,000
Best Audiography
Location Sound
Recordist
DolluKannadaJobin Jayan₹50,000
Best Audiography
Sound Designer
Me VasantraoMarathiAnmol Bhave₹50,000
Best Audiography
Re-recordist of the Final Mixed Track
MalikMalayalamVishnu Govind₹50,000
Best Music Direction
Songs
Ala VaikunthapurramulooTeluguS. Thaman₹50,000
Best Music Direction
Background Score
Soorarai PottruTamilG. V. Prakash Kumar₹50,000
Best LyricsSainaHindiManoj Muntashir₹50,000
Best EditingSivaranjiniyum Innum Sila PengalumTamilA. Sreekar Prasad₹50,000
Best Production DesignKappelaMalayalamAnees Nadodi₹50,000
Best Make-up ArtistNatyamTeluguTV Rambabu₹50,000
Best ChoreographyNatyamTeluguSandhya Raju₹50,000
Best Costume DesignTanhaji: The Unsung WarriorHindiNachiket Barve
Mahesh Sherla
₹50,000
Best Stunt ChoreographerAyyappanum KoshiyumMalayalamRajasekhar
Mafia Sasi
Supreme Sundat
₹50,000
Special MentionSemkhorDimasaAimee BaruahCertificate Only
Special MentionVaankuMalayalamKavya PrakashCertificate Only
Special MentionJuneMarathiSiddharth MenonCertificate Only
Special MentionGodakaathMarathiKishore KadamCertificate Only
Special MentionAvwanchhitMarathiKishore KadamCertificate Only
Special MentionToolsidas JuniorHindiVarun BuddhadevCertificate Only
Special Mention----

Regional awards

National Film Awards are also given to the best films in the regional languages of India. Awards for the regional languages are categorised as per their mention in the Eighth schedule of the Constitution of India. Awardees included producers and directors of the film. No films in languages other than those specified in the Schedule VIII of the Constitution were eligible.
;Best Feature Film in Each of the Language Other Than Those Specified In the Schedule VIII of the Constitution

Non-Feature Films

Short Films made in any Indian language and certified by the Central Board of Film Certification as a documentary/newsreel/fiction are eligible for non-feature film section.

Golden Lotus Award

Official Name: Swarna Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award ', a certificate and cash prize.
AwardFilmLanguageAwardeeCash prize
Best Non-Feature FilmTestimony of AnaDangiProducer & Director: Sachin Dheeraj Mudigonda₹1,50,000 each
Best Director of Non-Feature FilmOh That’s BhanuEnglish, Tamil, Malayalam, HindiR V Ramani₹1,50,000

Silver Lotus Award

Official Name: Rajat Kamal
All the Awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award ' and cash prize.
AwardFilmLanguageAwardeeCash prize
Best Debut Non-Feature Film of A DirectorPariahMarathi, HindiProducer : MIT School of Film & Television-Pune
Director: Vishesh Iyer
75,000/- each
Best Biographical FilmPabung SyamManipuriProducer: Films Division
Director: Haobam Paban Kumar
50,000/- each
Best Arts / Cultural FilmNaadada Navaneeta Dr PT VenkateshkumarKannadaProducer: Dept. of Information and Public Relations, Govt. of Karnataka
Director:Girish Kasaravalli
50,000/- each
Best Environment FilmManah Aru Manuh AssameseProducer: Directorate, Manas National Park and Aaranyak
Director: Dip Bhuyan
50,000/- each
Best Promotional FilmSurmounting ChallengesEnglishProducer: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.
Director: Satish Pande
50,000/- each
Best Film on Social IssuesThree SistersBengaliProducer:Ratnaboli Ray
Director:Putul Rafey Mahmood
₹150,000 each
Best Film on Social IssuesJustice Delayed, But DeliveredHindiProducer:Mandeep Chauhan
Director:Kamakhya Narayan Singh
₹150,000 each
Best Educational FilmDreaming of WordsMalayalam, TamilProducer: Nandan
Director: Nandan
50,000/- each
Best Ethnographic FilmMandal ke Bol HindiProducer: Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum-Bhopal
Director: Rajendra Janglay
50,000/- each
Best Exploration FilmWheeling the BallEnglish, HindiProducer: Film Division
Director: Mukesh Sharma
50,000/- each
Best Investigative FilmThe Saviour:Brig. Pritam SinghPunjabiProducer: Akal Productions
Director: Dr. Paramjeet Singh Kattu
50,000/- each
Best Animation Film
Best Short Fiction FilmKachichinithu KarbiProducer & Director: Khanjan Kishore Nath 50,000/- each
Best Film on Family ValuesKumkumarchan MarathiProducer: Studio Filmy Monks
Director: Abhijeet Arvind Dalvi
50,000/- each
Best CinematographyShabdikkunna Kalappa MalayalamNikhil S Praveen 50,000/- each
Best AudiographyPearl of the DesertRajasthaniRe-recordist : Ajit Singh Rathore 50,000/-
Best On-Location Sound RecordistJadui Jangal HindiSandip Bhati & Pradeep Lekhwar 50,000/-
Best EditingBorderlandsBengali, Nepali, Manipuri, Hindi, PunjabiAnadi Athaley 50,000/-
Best Music Direction1232 KMSHindiVishal Bhardwaj 50,000/-
Best Narration / Voice OverRhapsody of Rains- Monsoons of KeralaEnglishShobha Tharoor Sreenivasan 50,000/-
Special Jury AwardAdmittedHindi, EnglishOjaswee Sharma 1,00,000/-

Best Writing on Cinema

The awards aim at encouraging study and appreciation of cinema as an art form and dissemination of information and critical appreciation of this art-form through publication of books, articles, reviews etc.

Jury

A committee of three, headed by Utpal Borpujari was appointed to evaluate the nominations for the best writing on Indian cinema. The jury members were as follows:

Golden Lotus Award

Official Name: Swarna Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with the Golden Lotus Award accompanied with a cash prize.
AwardBookLanguageAwardeeCash prize
Best Book on CinemaThe Longest Kiss: The Life and Times of Devika RaniEnglishKishwar Desai
Publisher: Westland Publications
75,000/- each

Special Mention

All the awardees are awarded with a certificate.
AwardBookLanguageAwardeeCash prize
Best Book on CinemaM T Anunahvangalude PusthakamMalayalamAnoop Ramakrishnan
Publisher: Malayala Manorama
Certificate Only
Best Book on CinemaKali Paine Kalira CinemaOdiaSurya Deo
Publisher: Pakshighar Prakashani
Certificate Only