Bollywood actresses Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon have won the Best Actress Award at the 69th National Film Awards for their performances in ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ and ‘Mimi’ respectively. Tollywood star Allu Arjun bagged the Best Actor honor for ‘Pushpa: The Rise’. R. Madhavan’s directorial debut ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’ was named as the Best Feature Film.
With 280 films across 28 languages were in competition for various awards, the event was held by the jury at the National Media Centre here.
Released in 2022, ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ is directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The film also stars Shantanu Maheshwari, Vijay Raaz, Jim Sarbh and Ajay Devgn. The film is about Gangubai Kothewali, whose life was documented in the book Mafia Queens of Mumbai written by S. Hussain Zaidi. The film depicts the rise of a simple girl from Kathiawad who had no choice but to embrace the ways of destiny and swing it in her favour.
Allu Arjun’s ‘Pushpa: The Rise – Part 01’ is a Telugu-language action drama film directed by Sukumar. It stars Allu Arjun alongside Fahadh Faasil and Rashmika Mandanna. The first installment in the Pushpa film series, the film depicts the rise of a coolie Pushpa Raj in the smuggling syndicate of red sandalwood, a rare wood that grows only in the Seshachalam Hills of Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh state.
The comedy-drama ‘Mimi’ is directed by Laxman Utekar. The film is a remake of the 2011 Marathi film Mala Aai Vhhaychy!, it stars Kriti, who opts to be a surrogate mother for a foreign couple. Pankaj Tripathi, Sai Tamhankar, Manoj Pahwa and Supriya Pathak.
‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’, which released in 2022, is a biographical drama and stars Madhavan in the pivotal role.
The film is based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, played by Madhavan, a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation, who was accused in the ISRO espionage case and later exonerated. The story spans across Narayanan’s days as a graduate student at Princeton University, before exploring his work as a scientist and the false espionage charges placed upon him.
