The National Film Awards is one of the most prestigious and highly anticipated awards in the country. The winners of the 69th edition were announced on Thursday, August 24, in New Delhi.
A day after India’s Chandrayaan-3 became the first space mission to land near the south pole of the Moon and celebrations in ISRO are still underway, Rocketry: The Nambi Effect — a film on Indian Space Research Organisation’s former scientist S. Nambi Narayanan won Best Feature Film in the 69th National Film Awards, announced on Thursday.
The film was directed by R Madhavan who also played the main role. He was also lauded by superstar Rajnikanth for his performance as an actor-director.
Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’ received a ten-minute standing ovation at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, where he premiered it to a select audience.
Speaking about why he chose the story of S. Nambi Narayanan, the ISRO aerospace engineer who was charged with espionage and later declared not guilty by the Supreme Court, as his first script, Madhavan had earlier said, “There was no logical thinking or reasoning behind choosing this story as my first script. We were all totally moved by Nambi Narayanan’s story and his desire to tell the world what happened. We could not let that not happen.”
The Tanu Weds Manu star is also clear that he wanted to focus on Padma Bhushan Nambi Narayanan’s achievements, more than the controversy he was embroiled in. Narayanan was the key person involved in developing the Vikas engine that was used in India’s first polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV), and he headed the cryogenics division at ISRO.
In 1994, Narayanan was charged with espionage. In 1998, the apex court declared him not-guilty. But the tag of being a traitor stuck and Narayanan felt he wasn’t supported by ISRO during this period and he retired in 2001.
Take a look at the complete list of winners:
Best Actor – Allu Arjun (Pushpa: The Rise)
Best Actress – Alia Bhatt for Gangubai Kathiawadi and Kriti Sanon for Mimi
Best Feature Film – Rocketry: The Nambi Effect
Best Director – Nikhil Mahajan for Marathi film Godavari
Best Supporting Actor – Male – Pankaj Tripathi for Mimi
Best Supporting Actor – Female – Pallavi Joshi for The Kashmir Files
Best Screenplay (Adapted) – Gangubai Kathiawadi
Best Music Director (Songs): Devi Sri Prasad, Pushpa
Best Music Direction (Background Music): MM Keeravaani, RRR
Best Playback Singer – Male – Kaala Bhairava for RRR
Best Playback Singer – Female – Shreya Ghoshal
Best Dialogue Writer – Utkarshini Vashishtha and Prakash Kapadia for Gangubai Kathiawadi
Best Cinematography – Avik Mukhopadhayay for Sardar Udham
Best Film Wholesome Entertainment – RRR
Best Editing – Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Gangubai Kathiawadi
Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration: The Kashmir Files
Best Choreographer – Prem Rakshith for RRR
Best Make-up: Gangubai Kathiawadi
Best Stunt Choreography: RRR
Special Jury Award: Shershaah, Vishnuvardhan
Best Audiography (Re-recordist of the final mixed track): Sinoy Joseph, Sardar Udham
Best Costume Designer: Veera Kapur for Sardar Udham
Best Special Effects: Srinivas Mohan for RRR
Best Production Design: Dmitrii Malich and Mansi Dhruv Mehta, Sardar Udham
Best Hindi Film: Sardar Udham
Best Kannada Film: 777 Charlie
Best Malayalam Film: Home
Best Gujurati Film: Chhello Show
Best Tamil Film: Kadaisi Vivasayi
Best Telugu Film: Uppena
Best Marathi Film: Ekda Kaay Zala
Best Bengali Film: Kalkokkho
Best Assamese Film: Anur
Best Meiteilon Film – Eikhoigi Yum
Best Odiya Film – Pratikshya
Best Non-Feature Film – Ek Tha Gaon (Garhwali & Hindi)