Highlights
- Akshay Kumar won his first National Award for Rustom
- More power to you, tweeted Sidharth Malhotra
- Sajid Khan said one more feather in an overcrowded cap
It's a
red-letter day not just for Akshay Kumar but also for his legion of admirers. The 49-year-old star has won his first ever National Award - Best Actor for
Rustom - and social media is beside itself. 'Rustom' is trending on Twitter, which is flooded with congratulatory messages for Akshay. Just months ago, Akshay's omission from the Best Actor category at the Filmfare Awards
provoked his fans into fury - they were particularly enraged by Salman Khan's performance in
Sultan receiving a nomination. For them, the National Award is a vindication.
Rustom starred Akshay Kumar as a naval commander on trial for murdering his wife's lover - the film was based on the Nanavati case that led to reforms in the Indian judiciary.
Akshay Kumar shared a video on Twitter thanking fans for their support. Watch it here:
Akshay's wife Twinkle Khanna posted this emotional tweet:
Apart from fans, messages came flooding in many of Akshay's colleagues.
The National Awards also honoured Sonam Kapoor (who received a special mention) and her film
Neerja, which won Best Hindi Film.
Dangal's Zaira Wasim won Best Supporting Actor for playing the younger version of wrestler Geeta Phogat. The Priyanka Chopra-produced
Ventilator picked up Best Director for Rakesh Mapuskar, though it lost Best Marathi Film to
Dashakriya. Amitabh Bachchan's
Pink won Best Film on Social Issues.
Akshay Kumar has already had a triumph this year in the well-reviewed
Jolly LLB 2, which made over Rs 100 crore at the box office. He was last seen in a special appearance in recent release
Naam Shabana and has two films coming up -
Toilet: Ek Prem Katha with Bhumi Pednekar, and the big budget
2.0 starring Rajinikanth. He will also begin work on
Padman, produced by his wife Twinkle Khanna and co-starring Sonam Kapoor.