Telecast timings to winners: All about 68th National Film Awards
The 68th National Film Awards will take place in New Delhi on September 30 (Friday). To note, the winners were announced back in July, and President Droupadi Murmu will now confer the awards during a star-studded extravagant ceremony. The awards, which celebrate cinematic excellence across industries, were first established in 1954, and this year, movies released in 2020 have been considered for the accolades.
When, where to watch the ceremony?
The 68th National Film Awards will be broadcast live on FM Gold, Indraprastha, AIR Live News 24*7, and Akashvani AIR's YouTube channel. The ceremony will be telecast from 4:55pm onwards. Actors Ajay Devgn, Suriya, actor-singer Aparna Balamurali, music director Vishal Bhardwaj, lyricist Manoj Muntashir, and filmmakers Madhur Bhandarkar, Subhrajit Mitra, as well as several noted politicians are expected to grace the event.
Himachal Pradesh's Police Band will perform during the ceremony
The awards will be given by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. Reportedly, Himachal Pradesh's Police Band Harmony of the Pines will be delivering a special performance in front of the film industry members and all the other dignitaries. To recall, this band had earlier garnered acclaim after their performance on Colors TV's talent hunt reality show Hunarbaaz: Desh Ki Shaan.
Suriya, Ajay Devgn shared the Best Actor award
Suriya's acclaimed drama Soorarai Pottru, directed by Sudha Kongara, emerged victorious in the Beat Feature Film category. In addition to that, the Best Actor award was shared between him for Soorarai Pottru and Devgn for his historical period-drama Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. While this is Suriya's first National Award, Devgn had previously earned the honor for Zakhm and The Legend of Bhagat Singh.
Veteran actor Asha Parekh will also be felicitated on Friday
Veteran actor Asha Parekh (Naya Raasta, Asha, Kati Patang) will be honored with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award during the ceremony. To note, it is India's highest award in the field of cinema and Parekh is its 52nd recipient. Starting her career in movies as a child artist in 1952 (Maa, Aasmaan), Parekh has the distinction of having worked in around 95 movies.
These were the jury members
This year, the jury comprised 10 eminent personalities from different film fraternities across the country. The members included directors Vipul Shah, VN Aditya, Viji Thampi, cinematographers Dharam Gulati and GS Bhaskar, composer Karthik Raja, and actors Sreelekha Mukherji, Nishigandha Wad, S Thangadurai, and Sanjeev Rattan.
