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National Film Awards
The Government of India has instituted and operating National Film Awards, where conferment is given to the best talents in Film production in all its features like Direction, Cinematography, Acting, Playback singing, Editing etc. These awards are in vogue since 1954, although these Award functions are administered by Indian Governments Directorate of Film Festivals which was established in 1973.
Award Classification
These awards are grouped into three categories, which are
- Feature Films
- Non-Feature Films
- Best Writing on Cinema
The first two categories of Feature Film and Non-Feature Film groups are intended for encouraging film making with aesthetically superior and technically excellent productions with good social relevance, which contribute to the development of cultures of different regions of the country through cinema leading to unity and integrity of the Nation.
The third section of Best Writing on Cinema deals with the expression of art and culture and critical appreciation of Cinema as an art form through various forms of literature.
The Awards
There are a number of awards presented during the Film Festival every year, one among them being the Special Award called Dadasaheb Phalke Award. This award is given to a prominent film personality whose contribution to the film industry is appreciated by large number of film goers and those connected with the film industry.
Feature Film Awards are given in categories of
- Golden Lotus Award called Swarna Kamal Award
- Silver Lotus Award called Rajat Kamal Award
- Special Jury Award/Special Mention
Golden Lotus Award is given for six categories which are the Best Feature Film, the Best Director, the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, the Best Children's Film, the Best First Film of a Director and the Best Animated Film.
Silver Lotus Award is given for the rest of the categories such as the Best Male Actor, the Best Female Actor, the Best Supporting Male Actor, the Best Supporting Female Actor, the Best Child Artist, the Best Music Direction, the Best Male Playback Singer and Best Female Playback Singer, the Best Lyrics, the Best Art Direction, the Best Audiography, the Best Choreography, the Best Cinematography, the Best Costume Design, the Best Editing, the Best Make-up, the Best Screenplay and the Best Special Effects.
Special Jury Award/Special Mention awards are given to the Best Film on Environment Conservation / Preservation, the Best Film on Family Welfare, the Best Film on National Integration, the Best Film on Other Social Issues.
Awards are also given to the Best Feature Film in each of the languages coming under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India which include Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.
Another set of awards are given for Best Feature Film in each of the languages other than those specified in Eighth schedule of the Constitution of India, which include Bhojpuri, English, Khasi, Kodava, Kokborok, Monpa and Tulu.
There were few other awards which are discontinued over a period of time, such as Second Best Feature Film, Third Best Feature Film and Best Story.
These kind of awards are also given to Non-Feature Films as a separate category.
How the Awardees are Selected
The Government appoints a National Panel every year for selecting the winning entry. Those chosen as winners are conferred with the Awards in a special function in which the President of India presents the Awards.
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