68th National Film Awards: Suriya, Ajay Devgn share best actor award

Suriya's Soorarai Pottru won other awards in the best film, the best actress, the best screenplay and the best background score categories.

ByY Krishna Jyothi

Published Jul 22, 2022 | 8:06 PM ⚊UpdatedAug 24, 2023 | 4:06 PM

suriya best actor

Tamil actor Suriya shared the 68th National Award for best actor with Hindi actor Ajay Devgn. (Facebook/Suriya Sivakumar)

Tamil actor Suriya and Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn shared the National Award for Best Actor as the Directorate of Film Festivals announced the 68th National Film Awards on Friday, 22 July.

Suriya won the prestigious award for his super hit movie Soorarai Pottru, while Devgn bagged it for Tanhaji: The Unsung Hero.

Tamil actor Aparna Balamurali won the Best Actress award for her role in Soorarai Pottru.

ajay devgn best actor

Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn bagged the best actor award for his film Tanhaji: The unsung Hero. (Facebook/Ajay Devgn)

The Tamil movie also won the Best Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Background Score awards.

Meanwhile, South Indian feature films Colour Photo (Telugu), Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum (Tamil), Thinkalazcha Nishchayam (Malayalam), and Dollu (Kannada) bagged the Best Film award in their respective language.

In Telugu, composer SS Thaman won the best background score award for Ala Vaikuntapuramuloo, while Natyam won the Best Choreography and Best Makeup Artist awards.

As many as 305 feature films in 30 languages and 148 non-feature films in 20 languages from across India vied for the awards for the year 2020.

The awards were delayed by two years, given the Covid-19 pandemic.

Here’s the list of award winners:

 

Feature films

  • Best feature film: Soorarai Pottru (Tamil); producer: 2D Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, director: Sudha Kongara
  • Best actor: Suriya (Tamil) for Soorarai Pottru) & Ajay Devgn (Hindi) for Tanhaji: The Unsung Hero
  • Best actress: Aparna Balamurali (Tamil) for Soorarai Pottru
  • Best direction: Sachidanandan KR (Malayalam) for AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum
  • Best supporting actor: Biju Menon (Malayalam) for AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum
  • Best supporting actress: Lakshmi Priya Chandramouli (Tamil) for Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum
  • Best children’s film: Sumi (Marathi); producer: Harshall Kamat Entertainment; director: Amol Vasant Gole
  • Best Telugu film: Colour Photo
  • Best Tamil film: Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum
  • Best Malayalam film: Thinkalazcha Nishchayam
  • Best Kannada film: Dollu
  • Best Hindi film: Toolsidas Junior
  • Best Marathi film: Goshta Eka Paithanichi
  • Best Bengali film: Avijatrik
  • Best Haryanvi film: Dada Lakhmi
  • Best Assamese film: Bridge
  • Best Tulu film: Jeetige
  • Best Dimasa film: Semkhor

 

  • Best action direction: AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum (Malayalam)
  • Best choreography: Natyam (Telugu)
  • Best lyrics: Saima (Hindi)
  • Best music direction: S Thaman (Telugu) for Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo
  • Best background score: GV Prakash Kumar (Tamil) for Soorarai Pottru
  • Best screenplay: Screenplay writer (original): Shalini Usha Nair & Sudha Kongara (Tamil) for Soorarai Pottru
  • Dialogue writer: Madonne Ashwin (Tamil) for Mandela
  • Best cinematography: Supratim Bhol (Bengali) for Avijatrik
  • Best female playback singer: Nanchamma (Malayalam) for AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum
  • Best male playback singer: Rahul Deshpande (Marathi) for Mi Vasantrao
  • Best child artist: Anish Mangesh Gosavi (Marathi) for Sumi; Akanksha Pingle & Divyesh Indulkar
  • Best makeup artist: TV Rambabu (Telugu) for Natyam
  • Best costume designer: Nachiket Barve & Mahesh Sherla (Hindi) for Tanjahi
  • Best production design: Anees Nadodi (Malayalam) for Kappela
  • Best editing: Sreekar Prasad (Tamil) for Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum
  • Best audiography: Location sound recordist (for sync sound films only) Jobin Jayan for Dollu (Kannada)
  • Sound designer: Anmol Bhave (Marathi) for Mi Vasantro; Vishnu Govind & Sree Sankar (Re-recordist of the final mixed track) for Malik (Malayalam)
  • Special mentions: Vaanku (Malayalam), Toolsidas Junior (Hindi), Semkhor (Dimasa), June, Dodakaath & Avwanchhit (Marathi)
  • Best film on environment conservation/preservation: Talendanda (Kannda); producer: Krupanidhi Kreations; director: Praveen Krupakar
  • Best film on social issues: Funeral (Marathi); producer: Before After Entertainment; director: Vivek Dubey
  • Award for best popular film providing wholesome entertainment: Tanhaji (Hindi); producer: Ajay Devgn Ffilms; director: Om Raut
  • Indira Gandhi Award for best debut film of a director: Mandela (Tamil); producer: YNOT Studios; director: Madonne Ashwin

 

 

Non-feature films

  • Best non-feature film: Testimony of Ana
  • Best direction: Oh That’s Bhanu (English, Hindi, Tamil & Malayalam)
  • Best debut non-feature film of a director: Pariah (Marathi & Hindi)
  • Best Music Direction: Vishal Bharadwaj for 1232 Kms (Marenge Toh Wahin Jaakar)
  • Best editing: Anandi Athaley for Borderlands
  • Best on-location sound recordist: Sandip Bhati & Pradeep Lekhwar, Jadui Jangal for Magical Forest
  • Best cinematography: Nikhil S Praveen for Shabkikkuna Kalappa
  • Best voice-over/narration: Shobha Tharoor Sreenivasan, Rhapsody of Rains – Monsoons of Kerala (English)

  • Best audiography: Ajit Singh Rathore for Pearl of the Desert (Rajasthani)
  • Best short fiction film: Kachichinithu
  • Best film on family values: Kumkumarchan (Marathi)
  • Special jury award: Admitted (Hindi & English); director: Ojaswee Sharma
  • Best investigative film: The Saviour: Brig. Pritam Singh (Punjabi)
  • Best exploration/adventure film: Wheeling the Balls (English & Hindi)
  • Best educational film: Dreaming of Words (Malayalam)
  • Best film on social issues: Justice Delayed but Delivered (Hindi), Three Sisters (Bengali)
  • Best environment film: Manah Aru Manuh (Assamese)
  • Best science and technology film: On the brink season 2-Bats (English)
  • Best promotional film: Surmounting Challenges (English)
  • Best biographical film: Pabhung Syam (Manipuri)
  • Best arts and culture film: Naadada Navaneeta DR PT Venkateshkumar
  • Best ethnographic film: Mandal ke Bol (Hindi)

 

 

Other categories

  • Most film-friendly state: Madhya Pradesh
  • Most film-friendly state (special mention): Uttarakhand & Uttar Pradesh
  • Best book on cinema: The Longest Kiss (English) by Kishwar Desai
  • Best book on cinema (special mention): MIT Anubhavangalude Pusthakam (Malayalam) by Anoop Ramakrishnan & Kali Paine Kalira Cinema (Odia) by Pakshighar Prakashanee

 

Jury members

  • Vipul Shah, Chair, feature film
  • Chitartha Singh, Chair, non-feature film
  • Anant Vijay, Chair, best writing of cinema
  • Priyadarshanand, Chair, most film-friendly state

 

Celebrations in Tollywood

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Suhas (@suhassssssss)

Many celebrities from Tollywood took to their social media accounts to wish team Colour Photo for winning the best film award.

Starring YouTubers Suhas and Chandini Chowdary in lead roles, the movie also marked the directorial debut of Sandeep Raj, a short-film maker. It was produced by Amrutha Productions and Loukya Entertainments.

It was released on a digital platform during the pandemic. This love story, set in the 1990s, was based on a few real-life incidents. Besides winning the hearts of the viewers, the film won critical applause.

Similarly, wishes poured in from everyone for music composer Thaman for his outstanding score in Allu Arjun and Pooja Hegde-starrer Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (best music direction), Kuchipudi dancer Sandhya Raju who produced Natyam (best choreography) and TV Rambabu (best make-up artist of Natyam) for their incredible job.

 

 

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