“Kantara” Roars at National Awards: Rishabh Shetty Wins Best Actor, Film Declared Most Popular
New Delhi, EXPRESS News: The 70th National Film Awards were unveiled today in New Delhi, celebrating the best of Indian cinema from 2022. The prestigious awards, covering various categories across feature and non-feature films, recognized outstanding achievements in filmmaking, acting, and technical aspects.
Malayalam cinema secured a significant victory with “Attam” winning the Best Feature Film award. Kannada film industry star Rishabh Shetty received honors for “Kantara,” winning Best Actor for his performance and the movie bagged Best Popular Film award as well.
The Best Actress award was shared between Nitya Menon and Maansi Paarekh, while veteran actress Neena Gupta was awarded Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Uunchai.”
Music played a central role in this year’s awards. Arijit Singh won Best Playback Singer for “Brahmastra,” with Pritam clinching Best Music Director for the same film. The legendary A.R. Rahman added another accolade to his collection, winning Best Background Music for “Ponniyin Selvan 2.”
Regional cinema was well-represented, with “KGF 2” winning Best Kannada Film and an additional award for stunt choreography. “Karthikeya 2” and “Ponniyin Selvan 2” were recognized as Best Telugu and Best Tamil movies, respectively.
Sharmila Tagore’s comeback film “Gulmohar” won Best Hindi Film, with co-star Manoj Bajpayee receiving a special mention for his performance. The film industry also celebrated technical excellence, with Anand Krishnamurthy winning Best Sound Design for “Ponniyin Selvan.”
In the non-feature film category, “Mono No Aware” stood out, securing awards for Best Script and Best Cinematography. Composers Vishal-Shekhar were also honored for their musical contributions.
Sooraj Barjatya bagge the best director award for his film Uunchai, which featured three friends on a trek to MtEverest base camp.
The awards were decided by distinguished juries led by Rahul Rawail for feature films, Nila Madhab Panda for non-feature films, and Gangadhar Mudalair for writing on cinema.
