The National Film Awards for 2022, unveiled this Friday, brought regional films to the forefront as they dominated the honors across various categories. The Malayalam film “Aattam: The Play” emerged as the Best Feature Film, bolstering the reputation of regional cinema in India. Another highlight of the awards was Rishab Shetty’s commendable performance in the Kannada film “Kantara,” which earned him the coveted Best Actor award. On the Best Actress front, the title was shared by two talented actresses – Nithya Menen for her role in the Tamil film “Thiruchitrambalam” and Manasi Parekh for her performance in the Gujarati film “Kutch Express.”
The triumphs for “Aattam” didn’t end with the Best Feature Film award. The film also clinched awards for Best Editing, by Mahesh Bhuvanend, and Best Screenplay, credited to Anand Ekarshi alongside a joint win for “Gulmohar,” a Hindi film scripted by Arpita Mukherjee and Rahul V. Chittella. “Kantara,” besides securing Rishab Shetty his acting accolade, was also celebrated as the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
In the choreography sphere, “Thiruchitrambalam” received acclaim with Jani Master and Sathish Krishnan jointly winning the Best Choreography award. Significantly, “Gulmohar” was honored as the Best Hindi Film, and Niki Joshi earned the Best Costume Designer award for her work in “Kutch Express.”
The Best Direction award was bagged by Sooraj R. Barjatya for his impeccable work in the Hindi film “Uunchai: Zenith.” Meanwhile, Pavan Raj Malhotra’s role in “Fouja” (Haryanvi) fetched him the Best Supporting Actor award. Neena Gupta, for her stellar performance in “Uunchai: Zenith,” was named Best Supporting Actress in the feature films category. “Fouja” also made its mark as the Best Debut Film.
Regional films continued their winning streak with Bengali film “Aparajito: The Undefeated,” which took home the Best Production Design award for Ananda Addhya and the Best Makeup award for Somnath Kundu.
. The Best Lyrics accolade went to Naushad Sadar Khan for his lyrical genius in “Fouja.”
A.R. Rahman, the maestro, won Best Music Director (Background Score) for his work in Mani Ratnam’s “Ponniyin Selvan-Part 1” (Tamil), a film that also triumphed as the Best Tamil Film. It won accolades for Best Cinematography by Ravi Varman and Best Sound Design by Anand Krishnamoorthi. Pritam’s melodious compositions earned him the Best Music Director (Songs) award, while Arijit Singh was named Best Male Playback Singer for the song “Kesariya” from “Brahmastra-Part 1: Shiva.” The Best Female Playback Singer award was presented to Padma Shri awardee Bombay Jayashri for the song “Chaayum Veyil” in “Saudi Vellaka CC 225/2009,” which was also awarded Best Malayalam Film.
“Brahmastra-Part 1: Shiva,” directed by Ayan Mukerji and featuring VFX supervisors Jaykar Arudra, Viral Thakkar, and Neelesh Gore, was recognized as the Best Film in the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming & Comic category. Adding to the list of achievements, Anbumani and Arivumani, collectively known as Anbariv, were honored with the Best Action Direction (Stunt Choreography) award.
The recognition of young talent was marked by Sreepath winning the Best Child Artist award for his role in “Malikapurram” (Malayalam). In the short films category, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj was honored with the Best Music Director award for “Fursat.” Deepak Dua received the Best Film Critic award, showcasing excellence in the critical analysis of cinema.
In non-feature film categories, “Ayena: Mirror” (Hindu/Urdu) was lauded as the Best Non-Feature Film, while the Marathi documentary “Murmurs Of The Jungle” won the Best Documentary award. The prestigious Best Book on Cinema award was presented to “Kishore Kumar: The Ultimate Biography” by Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Parthiv Dhar, honoring a comprehensive exploration of one of India’s legendary figures in music and cinema.
The 2022 National Film Awards vividly underscored that regional cinema is not just thriving but also setting benchmarks in the Indian film industry. The staggering array of winners from various linguistic regions of India reaffirmed the rich cultural diversity and artistic talent flourishing across the nation, bringing regional stories and performances to a national and global audience.
