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17th National Film Awards

Indian ceremony celebrating cinema of 1969


Indian ceremony celebrating cinema of 1969

FieldValue
number17
awardNational Film Awards
caption17th National Film Awards
awarded_forBest of Indian cinema in 1969
award_orgMinistry of Information and Broadcasting
announced_date
presented_date
siteUniversity Centenary Auditorium, Madras
websitedff.nic.in
lifetime_achievementDevika Rani
best_featureBhuvan Shome
most_winsBhuvan Shome (3)
last16th
next18th

The 17th National Film Awards were presented by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India to facilitate the best of Indian cinema released in 1969. The ceremony took place at University Centenary Auditorium, Madras on 21 November 1970.

At the 17th National Film Awards, a new award was introduced to honour the father of Indian cinema, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, better known as Dadasaheb Phalke. Named the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, it was introduced to recognise the contribution of film personalities towards the development of Indian cinema. Starting with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Phalke in 1870, the award was awarded annually for this distinguished contribution.

Juries

Six different committees were formed based on the filmmaking sectors in India; along with the award categories, they were mainly based in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. Another committee for the All India level was also formed, which included some of the members from the regional committees. For the 17th National Film Awards, this central committee was headed by Justice G. D. Khosla.

  • Jury Members: Central
    • G. D. Khosla (Chairperson)Sitaram KesriShiela VatsA. C. JalanEzra MirB. K. KaranjiaTeji BachchanI. S. JoharHaridas BhattacharjeeU. Visweswar RaoSunder Lal NahataM. N. Kapur
  • Jury Members: Documentary
    • Tara Ali Baig (Chairperson)Rashid-Ul-TalibKapila VatsyayanUsha BhagatShanta Gandhi
  • Jury Members: Short Films
    • Amrita Pritam (Chairperson)R. G. AnandInder Lal Das
  • Jury Regional: Bombay
    • Nissim Ezekiel (Chairperson)Urmila KapurNavin KhandwallaR. S. PandeFiroze RangoonwallaBikram SinghBal ChhabdaShatrujit PaulBuny TalwarG. P. Shirke
  • Jury Regional: Calcutta
    • Amala Shankar (Chairperson)Roma ChoudhryChintamoni KarK. C. PanigrahiA. K. PramanickUtpal DuttaKanan DeviKartic ChatterjeeDurgadas MitraArti Tagore
  • Jury Regional: Madras
    • C. R. Pattabhiraman (Chairperson)P. Achutha MenonR. K. NarayanMallikarjuna RaoSarojini VaradappanK. ManoharanRajammal AnantharamanV. C. SubburamanD. V. S. RajuB. Ananthaswami

Awards

Awards were divided into feature films and non-feature films.

The President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film is now better known as the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, whereas the President's Gold Medal for the Best Documentary Film is analogous to today's National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film. For children's films, the Prime Minister's Gold Medal is now given as the National Film Award for Best Children's Film. At the regional level, the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film is now given as the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in a particular language. Certificates of Merit in all categories have been discontinued over the years.

Lifetime Achievement Award

AwardImageAwardee(s)Awarded AsCash prize
Dadasaheb Phalke Award[[File:Devika Rani in Achhut Kanya (1936).jpg75px]]Devika Rani Chaudhuri RoerichActress11,000, a shawl and a plaque

Feature films

Feature films were awarded at the All India as well as the regional level. For the 17th National Film Awards, a Bengali film Bhuvan Shome won the President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film while also winning the maximum number of awards (three).

All India awards

The awards given at the All India level were as follows:

AwardFilmLanguageAwardee(s)Cash prize
Best Feature FilmBhuvan ShomeHindiProducer: Mrinal SenGold Medal and 20,000
Director: Mrinal Sen
Second Best Feature FilmDibratrir KabyaBengaliProducer: M/s. Nabik Productions5,000 and a medal
Director: Bimal Bhowmick2,000 and a plaque
Director: Narayan Chakraborty
Best Feature Film on National IntegrationSaat HindustaniHindiProducer: Khwaja Ahmad Abbas5,000 and a medal
Director: Khwaja Ahmad Abbas
Best Actor (Bharat Award)Bhuvan ShomeHindiUtpal DuttA figurine
Best Actress (Urvashi Award)Dibratrir KabyaBengaliMadhabi MukherjeeA figurine
Best DirectionBhuvan ShomeHindiMrinal Sen5,000 and a plaque
Best Music DirectionNanak Nam Jahaz HaiPunjabiS. Mohinder5,000 and a plaque
Best Male Playback SingerAradhana
(For the song "Safal Hogi Teri Aradhana")HindiSachin Dev BurmanA plaque
Best Female Playback SingerThunaivanTamilK. B. SundarambalA plaque
Lyric Writer of the Best Film Song on National IntegrationSaat Hindustani
(For the song "Aandhi Aaye Ki Toofan")HindiKaifi AzmiA plaque
Best ScreenplayGejje PoojeKannadaS. R. Puttanna Kanagal5,000 and a plaque
Best Cinematography (Black and White)Sara AkashHindiK. K. Mahajan5,000 and a plaque
Best Cinematography (Color)Shanti NilayamTamilMarcus Bartley5,000 and a plaque
Best NewcomerSaat HindustaniHindiAmitabh Bachchan

Regional awards

Some awards were given to the best films made in the various regional languages of India. For feature films in English, the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film was not given. The producer and director of the winning films were awarded with 5,000 and a Silver medal, respectively.

AwardFilmAwardee(s)ProducerDirector
Best Feature Film in AssameseDr. BezbarooahM/s Rangghar Cine ProductionsBrajen Baruah
Best Feature Film in BengaliNatun PataM/s Gora PicturesDinen Gupta
Best Feature Film in GujaratiKankuKantilal RathodKantilal Rathod
Best Feature Film in HindiSatyakamSher Jeng Singh PuncheeHrishikesh Mukherjee
Best Feature Film in KannadaGejje PoojeChithra JyothiS. R. Puttanna Kanagal
Best Feature Film in MalayalamAdimakalM. O. JosephK. S. Sethumadhavan
Best Feature Film in MarathiTambdi MatiLilabai Bhalji PendharkarBhalji Pendharkar
Best Feature Film in OriyaAdina MeghaBabulal DoshiAmit Maitra
Best Feature Film in PunjabiNanak Nam Jahaz HaiPannalal MaheshwaryRam Maheshwary
Best Feature Film in TamilIru KodugalN. SelvarajK. Balachander
B. Doraisamy
N. Krishan
V. Govindarajan
Best Feature Film in TeluguAadarsa KutumbamN. Trivikrama RaoAdurthi Subba Rao

Non-Feature films

Awards were also given to numerous short films.

AwardFilmLanguageAwardee(s)Cash prize
Best Information Film (Documentary)Amrita Sher-GilEnglishProducer: B. D. Garga5,000 and a medal
Director: B. D. Garga
Best Educational / Instructional FilmLifeEnglishProducer: K. L. Khandpur for Films Division5,000 and a medal
Director: S. Gangooii2,000 and a plaque
Best Animation FilmUmbrellaEnglishProducer: G. K. Gokhale for Films Division5,000 and a medal
Director: B. R. Shendge2,000 and a plaque
Best Promotional Film (Commercial)Weave Me Some FlowersEnglishProducer: Mohan Wadhwani for Films DivisionA medal only
Director: P. B. PendharkarA plaque only

Awards not given

Some awards were not given because no film was considered suitable:

  • Best Story Writer
  • Best Film on Family Welfare
  • Best Children's Film
  • Best Child Artist
  • Best Film on Social Documentation
  • Best Experimental Film
  • Best Promotional Film (Non-Commercial)
  • President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in English

References

References

  1. "17th National Film Awards". Directorate of Film Festivals.
  2. "Happy Birthday, Amitabh Bachchan: Do You Know Big B Was Given Rs 5000 as His First Acting Fees For Saat Hindustani".
  3. (2024-07-28). "7 National Award-winning movies of Amitabh Bachchan".
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