62nd National Film Awards: 'Haider' shines in healthy mix of Hindi, regional cinema

The jury of the 62nd National Film Awards on Tuesday announced a balanced list of winners from the Hindi and regional movie worlds, with Vishal Bhardwaj’s “Haider” taking away a bouquet of five awards. Talents from Tamil and Bengali movies have been rightfully lauded too.

“Haider” - a modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy “Hamlet” - set in the backdrop of Kashmir, won Best Male Playback Singer for Sukhwinder Singh for the song "Bismil"; Best Dialogues and Music Direction for the film’s director Vishal Bhardwaj; Best Choreography for Norway-based Sudesh Adhana; and Best Costume Designer for the effervescent Dolly Ahluwalia.

"We have got more than what we expected... I am overwhelmed," Vishal Bhardwaj, the director of the film, told reporters in Mumbai.

Bollywood’s other big winner is “Queen”, which not just won the Best Hindi film, but also the Best Actress honour for Kangana Ranaut, for “an endearingly etched out performance” as Rani. This is her second National Award after she won the Best Supporting Actress for essaying a doomed model in the 2008 film “Fashion”.

The Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment went to "Mary Kom", debut directed by Omung Kumar, for being "an inspiring tale of a woman who becomes a national icon through her determined pursuit of sporting excellence". The film starred National Award winning actress Priyanka Chopra as boxing champion M.C. Mary Kom, and the director is ecstatic about the unexpected victory.

“It’s the biggest high,” Omung Kumar told IANS.

Amitabh Bachchan-starrer “Bhootnath Returns” along with Marathi film “Killa” got a special mention for lovable portrayals. Other films that got a special mention are Malayalam film “Ain” and Konkani film “Nachom - IA Kumpasar”.

Another surprised winner was Chaitanya Tamhane, whose yet-to-be-released movie “Court” won the Best Feature Film for its "powerful and stark depiction of the mundaneness of judicial procedure”.

The Best Direction award went to Bengali director Srijit Mukherji for "Chotushkone", which according to the jury, has "brilliantly reflexive use of the cinematic idiom". Mukherji also won for Best Original Screenplay for the film, which even won the Best Cinematography accolades for Sudeep Chatterjee.

The Best Actor award has been bagged by Vijay for his "subtle and non-stereotypical playing of a woman trapped in a man's body", in Kannada film "Nanu Avanalla Avalu". The film has also won for Best Makeup Artist for Nangaraju and Raju.

The Indira Gandhi Award For Best Debut Film Of A Director went to Bengali film "Asha Jaoar Majhe", helmed by Aditya Vikram Sengupta, while Bengali film "Chotoder Chobi" was named as Best Film on Social Issues for its portrayal of marginalised people, and Malayalam movie "Ottaal" won Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation.

In the Best Children's Film, there is a tie between Marathi entertainer "Elizabeth Ekadashi" and Tamil movie "Kakka Muttai". The latter has also won the Best Child Artist honour for actors J. Vignesh and Ramesh.

The winner of the Best Supporting Actor this year is Bobby Simhaa for Tamil film "Jigarthanda", which also won Best Editing award for Vivek Harshan, while Baljinder Kaur’s performance in Haryanvi movie "Pagdi The Honour" has been cited for Best Supporting Actress.

The Best Playback Female Singer has gone to Uttara Unnikrishanan for the song "Azhagu" from Tamil movie "Saivam”, and the Best Adapted Screenplay honour went to Joshy Mangalath for Malayalam movie "Ottal".

NA. Muthukumar won the award in Best Lyrics category for the song “Azhagu” from film “Saivam” as well.

The audiography department saw winners Marathi film "Khwada" -- which even won a Special Jury honour -- and Bengali movies "Asha Jaoar Majhe" and "Nirbashito".

The award for Best Production Design went to Aparna Raina for Konkani film “Nachom - IA Kumpasar”. She was honoured for convincingly recreating spaces from a different era and keeping minute details in mind.

Other films to get awards in Best Assamese, Bengali, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Marathi, Odiya, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu film category are - “Othello”, “Nirbashito”, “Harivu”, “Nachom - IA Kumpasar”, “Ain”, “Killa”, “Aadim Vichar”, “Punjab 1984”, “Kuttram Kadithal” and “Chandamama Kathalu” respectively.

Sukankan Roy's directorial "Sound of Joy" grabbed a national film award in the Best Animation film category for its flowing and engaging storytelling. The film narrated stories from Swami Vivekananda’s childhood and emphasised on developing the power of concentration. The film was produced by Aura Cinematics and the animator of Rishi Sanay.

Jury