64th National Film Awards

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64th National Film Awards
Awarded forBest of Indian cinema in 2016
Awarded byDirectorate of Film Festivals
Presented byPranab Mukherjee
(President of India)
Announced on7 April 2017
Presented on3 May 2017 (2017-05-03)
Official websitedff.nic.in
Highlights
Best Feature FilmKaasav
Best Non-Feature FilmFireflies in the Abyss
Best BookLata : Sur Gatha
Best Film CriticG. Dhananjayan
Dadasaheb Phalke AwardK. Viswanath
Most awards • Allama
 • Dashkriya
 • Ventilator (3)

The 64th National Film Awards was an award ceremony during which the Directorate of Film Festivals presents its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2016 in the Indian cinema. The awards were announced on 7 April 2017, and the ceremony was held on 3 May 2017.[1]

Selection process[edit]

The Directorate of Film Festivals invited online entries for the first time on 16 January 2017 and the acceptable last date for entries was until 21 January 2017.[2] Feature and Non-Feature Films certified by Central Board of Film Certification between 1 January 2016, and 31 December 2016, 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 2016, and 31 December 2016, 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.[3]

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.[2]

Best Film Friendly State[edit]

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 Members
 • Madhur Bhandarkar (Chairperson)
 • Kaushik Ganguly
 • Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi
 • Mohan Kanda
Award Name of State Citation
Best Film Friendly State State of Uttar Pradesh For implementing a unique film policy, taking into account that the film medium is not only about entertainment but is also a very important vehicle of employment, social awareness and cultural development. The State’s Film Policy includes various measures to create a suitable environment, which not only invites shooting of films on a large scale in the State but also promotes other activities, which are related to various aspects of film production at the ground level, including financial incentives for filmmakers.
Best Film Friendly State – Special Mention State of Jharkhand To foster the film Industry and their endeavour to give incentives to filmmakers from across India. In addition to the above, the Film Policy also provides growth opportunities to the local filmmaking talent from within the State.

Golden Lotus Award[edit]

Official Name: Swarna Kamal

All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)'.

Dadasaheb Phalke Award[edit]

Introduced in 1969, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the highest award given to recognise the contributions of film personalities towards the development of Indian cinema and for distinguished contributions to the medium, its growth and promotion."[4]

A committee consisting five eminent personalities from Indian film industry was appointed to evaluate the lifetime achievement award, Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Following were the jury members:[5]

  • Jury Members
 • Manoj Kumar
 • Asha Bhosle
 • T. S. Nagabharana
 • Kamal Haasan
 • S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Name of Award Image Awardee(s) Awarded As Awards
Dadasaheb Phalke Award The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Information & Broadcasting, Shri Manish Tewari presenting the Limca Book of Record ‘People of the Year’2013 to Dr. K Vishwanath, at a function, in New Delhi on April 10.jpg K. Viswanath Filmmaker Swarna Kamal, 1 million (US$14,000) and a shawl

Feature Films[edit]

Feature films will be awarded at All India as well as regional level. Following will be the awards given in each category:

Jury[edit]

For the Feature Film section, six committees were formed based on the different geographic regions in India. The two-tier evaluation process included a central committee and five regional committees. The central committee, headed by the director Priyadarshan, included the heads of each regional committee and five other jury members. At regional level, each committee consisted of one chief and four members. The chief and one non-chief member of each regional committee were selected from outside that geographic region. The table below names the jury members for the central and regional committees:[5]

Central Jury

 • Priyadarshan (Chairperson)
 • N. Chandra  • Vasant S. Sai
 • K. J. Suresh  • Imo Singh
 • Girish Mohite  • Deboshruti Roy Chowdhury
 • C. V. Reddy  • P. C. Reddy
 • Ashok Rane  • Devdas Chhottrey

Northern Region: (Bhojpuri, Dogri, English, Hindi, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Urdu)

 • K. J. Suresh (Head)
 • Rakesh Mittal  • Advaita Kala
 • Uma Maheswar Rao  • S. S. Bhakhoo

Eastern Region: (Assamese, Bengali, Oriya and North-Eastern dialects)

 • Shyamaprasad (Head)
 • Sanjeev Hazarika  • Tanushree Hazarika
 • Girish Mohite  • Jagora Bandyopadhyay

Western Region: (Gujarati, Konkani, Marathi)

 • N. Chandra (Head)
 • Sanjay Pawar  • B. Diwakar
 • Pramod Pawar  • Gopi Desai

Southern Region I: (Malayalam, Tamil)

 • Imo Singh (Head)
 • R. S. Vimal  • Balaji Sakthivel
 • Suresh Chandra  • Priya Krishnaswamy

Southern Region II: (Kannada, Telugu)

 • Vasant S. Sai (Head)
 • G. Bhageeradha  • K. S. Ramesh
 • H. N. Maruthi  • Aslam Sheikh

All India Award[edit]

Following will be the awards given:

Golden Lotus Award[edit]

Official Name: Swarna Kamal

All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.

Name of Award Name of Film Language Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Best Feature Film Kaasav Marathi Director(s): Sumitra Bhave–Sunil Sukthankar
Producer(s):  • Sumitra Bhave–Sunil Sukthankar
 • Mohan Agashe
250,000/- Each
Best Debut Film of a Director Alifa Bengali Director: Deep Choudhury
Producer: Arman Ahmed
125,000/- Each
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment Sathamanam Bhavati Telugu Producer: V. Venkata Ramana Reddy
Director: Satish Vegesna
200,000/- Each
Best Children's Film Dhanak Hindi Director: Nagesh Kukunoor
Producer: Drishyam Films
150,000/- Each
Best Direction Ventilator Marathi Rajesh Mapuskar 250,000/-
Best Animated Film Mahayodha Rama Hindi Producer: Contiloe Pictures Pvt. Ltd.
Director: Rohit Vaid
Animator: Deepak S.V
100,000/- Each

Silver Lotus Award[edit]

Official Name: Rajat Kamal

All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.

Name of Award Name of Film Language Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Best Feature Film on National Integration Dikchow Banat Palaax Assamese Producer: Canvascope
Director: Sanjib Sabha Pandit
150,000/- Each
Best Film on Other Social Issues Pink Hindi Producer: Rashmi Sharma Films
Director: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
150,000/- Each
Best Film on Environment/Conservation/Preservation Loktak Lairembee Manipuri Producer and Director: Haobam Paban Kumar 150,000/- Each
Best Actor Rustom Hindi Akshay Kumar 50,000/-
Best Actress Minnaminungu Malayalam Surabhi Lakshmi 50,000/-
Best Supporting Actor Dashkriya Marathi Manoj Joshi 50,000/-
Best Supporting Actress Dangal Hindi Zaira Wasim 50,000/-
Best Child Artist Railway Children Kannada Manohara K 50,000/- (Cash component to be shared)
Sahaj Paather Gappo Bengali  • Nur Islam
 • Samiul Alam
Kunju Daivam Malayalam Adish Praveen
Best Male Playback Singer Joker
(For the song "Jasmine E")
Tamil Sundarayyar 50,000/-
Best Female Playback Singer Praktan
(For the song "Tumi Jaake Bhalobasho")
Bengali Iman Chakraborty 50,000/-
Best Cinematography 24 Tamil Tirru 50,000/-
Best Screenplay
 • Screenplay Writer (Original)
Maheshinte Prathikaaram Malayalam Syam Pushkaran 50,000/-
Best Screenplay
 • Screenplay Writer (Adapted)
Dashakriya Marathi Sanjay Krishnaji Patil 50,000/-
Best Screenplay
 • Dialogues
Pelli Choopulu Telugu Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam 50,000/-
Best Audiography
 • Sound Designer
Kaadu Pookkunna Neram Malayalam Jayadevan Chakka Dath 50,000/-
Best Audiography
 • Re-recordist of the Final Mixed Track
Ventilator Marathi Alok De 50,000/-
Best Editing Ventilator Marathi Rameshwar S. Bhagat 50,000/-
Best Production Design 24 Tamil  • Subrata Chakraborthy
 • Shreyas Khedekar
 • Amit Ray
50,000/-
Best Costume Design Cycle Marathi Sachin Lovalekar 50,000/-
Best Make-up Artist Allama Kannada NK Ramakrishna 50,000/-
Best Music Direction
 • Songs
Allama Kannada Bapu Padmanabha 50,000/-
Best Music Direction
 • Background Score
Allama Kannada Bapu Padmanabha 50,000/-
Best Lyrics Praktan
(For the song "Tumi Jaake Bhalobasho")
Bengali Anupam Roy 50,000/- (Cash Component To Be Shared)
Dharma Durai
(For the song "Entha Pakkam")
Tamil Vairamuthu
Best Special Effects Shivaay Hindi Naveen Paul 50,000/-
Best Choreography Janatha Garage Telugu Raju Sundaram 50,000/-
Best Stunt Choreographer Pulimurugan Malayalam Peter Hein 50,000/-
Special Jury Award  • Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol
 • Janatha Garage
 • Pulimurugan
 • Malayalam
 • Telugu
 • Malayalam
Mohanlal 200,000/-
Special Mention Kadvi Hawa Hindi Producer: Eleeanora Images Private Ltd.
Director: Nila Madhab Panda
Certificate only
Mukti Bhawan Hindi Producer: Red Carper Moving Pictures
Director: Shubhashish Bhutiani
 • Mukti Bhawan
 • Maj Rati Keteki
Hindi
Assamese
Adil Hussain (Actor)
Neerja Hindi Sonam Kapoor (Actress)

Regional Awards[edit]

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.

Name of Award Name of Film Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Producer(s) Director
Best Feature Film in Assamese Maj Rati Keteki Udara Films Santwana Bardoloi 100,000/- Each
Best Feature Film in Bengali Bisarjan M/s Opera Kaushik Ganguly 100,000/- Each
Best Feature Film in Gujarati Wrong Side Raju Cineman Productions Ltd. Mikhil Musale 100,000/- Each
Best Feature Film in Hindi Neerja Fox Star Studios India Pvt. Ltd. Ram Madhvani 100,000/- Each
Best Feature Film in Kannada Reservation Thotadamane Nikhil Manjoo 100,000/- Each
Best Feature Film in Konkani K Sera Sera – Ghodpachem Ghoddtelem de Goan Studio Rajiv Shinde 100,000/- Each
Best Feature Film in Malayalam Maheshinte Prathikaaram Dream Mill Cinemas and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. Dileesh Pothan 100,000/- Each
Best Feature Film in Marathi Dashkriya Rangneel Creations Sandeep Bhalachandra Patil 100,000/- Each
Best Feature Film in Tamil Joker Dream Warrior Pictures Raju Murugan 100,000/- Each
Best Feature Film in Telugu Pelli Choopulu Dharamapatha Creations Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam 100,000/- Each

Best Feature Film in Each of the Language Other Than Those Specified In the Schedule VIII of the Constitution

Name of Award Name of Film Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Producer Director
Best Feature Film in Moran Haanduk Mayamara Production Jaicheng Jai Dohutia 100,000/- Each
Best Feature Film in Tulu Madipu Aastha Production Chetan Mundadi 100,000/- Each

Non-Feature Films[edit]

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.

Jury[edit]

A committee of seven, headed by Raju Mishra, was appointed to evaluate the Non-Feature Films entries. The jury members were:[5]

 • Raju Mishra (Chairperson)
 • Ashok Sharan  • M. C. Rajanarayanan
 • M. Maniram  • Sanjeev Ratan
 • Preethi Tripathi  • Sushmit Ghosh

Golden Lotus Award[edit]

Official Name: Swarna Kamal

All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.

Name of Award Name of Film Language Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Best Non-Feature Film Fireflies in the Abyss English Producer: Chandrasekhar Reddy
Director: Chandrasekhar Reddy
100,000/- Each
Best Director in Non-Feature Film Aaba... Aiktaay Na? Marathi Producer: Shri Mahalasa Productions Ponda
Director: Aaditya Jambhale
150,000/- to the Director

Silver Lotus Award[edit]

Official Name: Rajat Kamal

All the Awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)' and cash prize.

Name of Award Name of Film Language Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Best First Non-Feature Film SOZ...A Ballad of Maladies Hindi Producer: Rajiv Mehrotra, PSBT
Director: Tushar Madhav & Sarvnik Kaur
50,000/- Each
Best Biographical Film / Best Historical Reconstruction / Compilation Film Zikr Us Parivaksha: Begum Akhtar Urdu Producer: Sangeet Natak Akademi
Director: Nirmal Chander
50,000/- Each
Best Arts / Cultural Film In the Shadow of Time English Producer: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts
Director: Shankhajeet Dey
50,000/- Each (Cash Component to be shared)
The Lord of the Universe English Producer and Director: Shibu Prusty
Best Environment Film including Best Agricultural Film The Tiger Who Crossed The Line English Producer and Director: Krishnendu Bose 50,000/- Each
Best Film on Social Issues I am Jeeja English Producer: Rajiv Mehrotra
Director: Swaty Chakraborty
50,000/- Each (Cash Component to be shared)
Sanath Hindi Producer: Priya Arun
Director: Vasanth S. Sai
Best Educational / Motivational / Instructional Film The Water Fall English Producer: Syed Sultan Ahmed
Director: Lipika Singh Darai
50,000/- Each
Best Exploration / Adventure Film Matitali Kusti Marathi Producer: Madhavi Reddy
Director: Prantik Vivek Deshmukh
50,000/- Each
Best Investigative Film Placebo English Producer: Archana Fadke
Director: Abhay Kumar
50,000/- Each
Best Animation Film Hum Chitra Banate Hai Hindi Producer: IDC, IIT MUmbai
Director: Nina Sabnani
Animator: Piyush Varma And Shyam Sundar Chatterjee
50,000/- Each
Best Short Fiction Film Aaba English Producer: Raj Kumar Gupta
Director: Amar Kaushik
50,000/- Each
Best Film on Family Welfare Little Magician English Producer: Syed Sultan Ahmed
Director: Neha Sharma
50,000/- Each
Best Cinematography Kalpvriksha
Adnyat
Hindi
English
Cameraman:Alpesh Nagar
Cameraman:Vishal Sangwai
50,000/- Each
Best Audiography In Return Just A Book English Ajith Abraham George 50,000/-
Best Audiography
 • Location Sound Recordist
Remembering Kurdi English Christopher Bhurchell 50,000/-
Best Editing Gudh English Jishu Sen 50,000/-
Best Music Direction Leeches Hindi, English Tanuj Tiku 50,000/-
Best Narration / Voice over Makino English Setsu Makino Togawa 50,000/- Each
Special Jury Award The Cinema Travellers English Producer: Shirley Abraham
Director: Shirely Abraham
50,000/- Each
Special Mention Chembai:Descoperire A Mei Unai Legende Chembai My discovery of a legend (Documentary) English Soumya Sadanandan Certificate
Sikar Aru Sitkar Assamese Ramen Borah and Sibanu Borah Certificate
The Eyes of Darkness English Amitabh Parashar Certificate

Best Writing on Cinema[edit]

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[edit]

A committee of three, headed by the National Award-winning writer Bhavana Somaya was appointed to evaluate the nominations for the best writing on Indian cinema. The jury members were as follows:[5]

 • Bhavana Somaya (Chairperson)
 • Mohan V. Raman  • Prabhat Kumar

Golden Lotus Award[edit]

Official Name: Swarna Kamal

All the awardees are awarded with the Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal) accompanied with a cash prize.

Name of Award Name of Book Language Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Best Book on Cinema Sur Gatha Hindi Author: Yatindra Mishra Publisher: Vani Prakashan 75,000/- Each
Best Film Critic NA English G. Dhananjayan 75,000/-
Special Mention A Fly in the Curry English Author: K.P. Jayashankar & Anjali Monteiro Certificate Only

Controversy[edit]

There was controversy over the National Film Award for Best Actor, which the committee awarded to Akshay Kumar for his performance in Rustom,[6][7] snubbing Aamir Khan's performance for Dangal.[8][9][10] Committee member Priyadarshan, who has worked with Kumar on several films,[6][10] gave the following explanation for awarding Kumar instead of Khan:[10]

Why should we have given the Best Actor award to Aamir Khan when he has made it very clear that he doesn’t attend awards functions? If he doesn’t want to accept the honour, what is the point in honouring him? Nowadays, we have seen people returning their awards. We didn’t want to take that risk.

References[edit]

  1. "Notice for inviting tender for Hiring of Event Management Agency for 64th National Film Awards Ceremony 2016" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Call for entries; 64th National Film Awards for 2016" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  3. "National Film Awards 2016". Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  4. "17th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. p. 38. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "64th National Film Awards" (PDF) (Press release). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  6. 6.0 6.1 "64th National Film Awards 2017: Why Akshay Kumar's win is a fiasco for once prestigious honour". Firstpost. 8 April 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  7. "Forget Akshay Kumars national award win. How many of THESE actors deserved it?". India Today. 10 April 2017. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  8. "National Film Awards complete winner list: Aamir Khan and Dangal face a royal snub!". Catch News. 7 April 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  9. Chauhan, Gaurang (7 April 2017). "3 revelations made by Priyadarshan on Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan and National Film Awards that stumped us". Bollywood Life. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Priyadarshan on Akshay's National Award: Why honour Aamir when he doesn't accept it?". Hindustan Times. 8 April 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.

External links[edit]