National Film Awards 2017: Akshay Kumar photographed at the ceremony
Highlights
- Akshay Kumar won his best actor National Award for Rustom
- Akshay Kumar played naval officer Rustom Pavri in the film
- Sonam Kapoor was also given a Special Mention for her work in Neerja
New Delhi:
Akshay Kumar received his
National Award for Best Actor from President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday. The ceremony was held in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Other awardees included
Dangal star Zaira Wasim who won Best Supporting Actress, Mohanlal who received the Jury Award, and Sonam Kapoor who was given a Special Mention for her work in
Neerja.
Neerja, the story of slain Pan Am flight stewardess Neerja Bhanot, won the National Award for Best Hindi Film. The Marathi language
Kasav won Best Feature Film and
Ventilator, produced by Priyanka Chopra, won three awards including Best Director for Rajesh Mapuskar. Former Indian Army officer and Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was also presenting at the award ceremony.
Akshay, whose first National Award this is, tweeted soon after receiving his prize to say:
The complete
list of awardees is below. South veteran K Vishwanath received the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for his contribution to cinema.
Here are pictures from the National Award ceremony:
Akshay Kumar and Sonam Kapoor photographed at the National Film Awards 2017 (courtesy: PTI)
National Film Awards 2017: The Padman co-stars were photographed congratulating each other (courtesy PTI)
Akshay Kumar was accompanied to the National Awards by wife Twinkle Khanna and son Aarav. Ahead of the ceremony, the 49-year-old actor posted this photo:
Akshay Kumar's win for Best Actor -
his first National Award -
has been clouded by controversy. The merits of his performance in
Rustom, the film for which he was awarded, versus those of Aamir Khan and Manoj Bajpayee in
Dangal and
Aligarh have been furiously debated. National Award jury chief Priyadarshan, who has directed Akshay in movies like
Hera Pheri and
Bhagam Bhag, has also been accused of favouritism.
Akshay's National Award has been defended by colleagues like filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Suniel Shetty, who co-starred in the
Hera Pheri films. Akshay himself told news agencies some days ago, ""I've been hearing it for past 25 years, whenever someone wins there is some discussion around it. This is not new. Someone or the other always creates a controversy. 'He shouldn't have won, the other person should have.' It's okay. I've won this after 26 years, agar woh bhi aapka mann kare toh le lo (take it back if you feel like it)."
Here are
all the winners of this year's National Awards:
SWARNA KAMALBest Feature Film:
Kasav (Marathi)
Best Debut Film of A Director:
Khalifa (Bengali)
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment:
Sathamanam Bhavati (Telugu)
Best Children's Film:
Dhanak (Hindi)
Best Direction: Rajesh Mapuskar For
VentilatorRAJAT KAMALBest Actor: Akshay Kumar for
RustomBest Actress: Surabhi Lakshmi for
MinnaminungeBest Supporting Actor: Manoj Joshi for
DashkriyaBest Supporting Actress: Zaira Wasim for
DangalBest Child Artist: Manohara for
Railway ChildrenBest Male Playback Singer: Sundara Iyer for
JokerBest Female Playback Singer: Emaan Chakraborty for
PraktanBest Cinematography: Tirru
Best Screenplay (Original): Syam Pushkaran for
Maheshinte PrathikaaramBest Screenplay (Adapted): Sanjay Krishnaji Patel for
DashakriyaBest Film on Other Social Issues:
PinkBest Film on Environment/Conservation/Preservation:
The Tiger Who Crossed The LineBest Editing: Rameshwar S. Bhagat for
VentilatorBest Art Direction:
24Best Costume Design: Sachin
Best Music Direction (Songs): Bapu Padmanabha/Bapu Flute Allama
Best Lyrics: Vairamuthu for
Dharma Durai song
Vantha Entha PakkamBest Special Effects:
ShivaayREGIONAL AWARDSBest Bengali Film:
BisarjanBest Gujarati Film:
Wrong Side RajuBest Hindi Film:
NeerjaBest Kannada Film:
ReservationBest Malayalam Film:
Maheshinte PrathikaaramBest Marathi Film:
DashakriyaBest Tamil Film:
JokerBest Telugu Film:
Pelli Choopulu