Q. With respect to the National Film Awards, consider the following statements:
- Shabana Azmi holds the record for having won the Best Actress Award five times.
- Nargis won the inaugural Award for Best Actress in 1954.
- Riddhi Sen is the youngest recipient of the Award till date.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer:
Only 1 & 3
Notes:
- The National Film Awards are presented by the President of India each year for the films of the preceding year. First given out in 1954, they were called the ‘State Awards’ and were limited to recognising the best films from a dozen regional languages. It was in 1968 that separate awards for artists and technicians were given.
- Nargis won the inaugural Award for Best Actress, for her performance as a schizophrenia patient in ‘Raat Aur Din’, while Uttam Kumar won the Best Actor award for both ‘Antony Firingee’ and ‘Chiriyakhana’. The Awards were officially designated Urvashi Award and Bharat Award respectively.
- Shabana Azmi holds the record for having won the Best Actress Award five times, including three back-to-back wins for ‘Arth’, ‘Khandhar’ and ‘Paar’, from 1982-84.
- Riddhi Sen won Best Actor for his portrayal of a trans woman in ‘Nagarkirtan’ (2017), he is also the youngest recipient of the Award till date.
- This year, tamil film ‘Soorarai Pottru’ has won in five categories: Best Feature Film, Best Actor for Suriya, Best Actress for Aparna Balamurali, Best Music Direction (Score) for G V Prakash Kumar, and Best Original Screenplay for Sudha Kongara, who also directed the film.
- Suriya shares his Award with Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan, who has won for his role in ‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’. The film has also won the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
- This time, no award was given for Best Critic. The Best Book on Cinema went to Kishwar Desai’s ‘The Longest Kiss’, which is about Devika Rani, often called “The First Lady of Indian Cinema”.