New Delhi:The 67th National Film Awards, which were announced earlier this year, were presented in person at New Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan today. The prizes were handed out to awardees by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu Dhanush And Manoj Bajpayee received their awards for Best Actor. Kangana Ranaut received her award for Best Actress. Superstar Rajinikanth received his Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2019. South star Vijaya Sethupathi took home the Best Supporting Actor prize for Super Deluxe.
The winner list was announced in March this year with late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's film Chhichhore winning the Best Hindi Film award and Kangana Ranaut winning her third Best Actress prize for her performances in Manikarnika (2019) and Panga (2020). Manoj Bajpayee and Dhanush share the Best Actor award for their respective roles in Bhonsle and Asuran, which also won the Best Tamil Film award.
Chhicchore director Nitesh Tiwari and producer Sajid Nadiadwala dedicated the Best Hindi Film Award to Sushant Singh Rajput, who died last year. They said that the late actor will always remain an "integral part of the film" at the ceremony.
Filmmaker Nitesh Ranjan Agnihotri was the Guest Of Honour. He was among the first few celebs to arrive at the awards, including the juries for the awards and for Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Actor Biswajit Chatterjee, who was one of the jury members, said that Rajinikanth was selected for the honour because he is a "talented" person and very "down to earth."
Union Minister for Information Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur and Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan were among the other senior dignitaries attending the ceremony. Anurag Singh Thakur shared his thoughts on celebrating Hindi Cinema at the 67th National Awards. He congratulated Rajinikanth on receiving for Dadadsaheb Phalke Award. He said after five decades, Rajinikanth is not just a star but also an institution in himself.
The 67th National Awards were delayed from last year due to the coronavirus pandemic that hit the world last year and left a huge impact on the global economy.