Marathi film Deool and Byari , both dealing with man’s engagement with religion, shared the best feature film award while Vidya Balan was named the best actress for her performance in The Dirty Picture at the 59th National Awards announced here today.
Deool won its lead star Girish Kulkarni the National award for best actor at the awards where except for Balan, the awards in key categories went to regional films.
Directed by Umesh Kulkarni,
“It is a great moment for us as we worked hard on the film for two years. It was a closely knit team. It is very encouraging for us who want to make movies without compromising on content. I am really happy for Girish. He is a very versatile and genuine actor,” Umesh told PTI.
Byari , the first feature film in the Byari language, conveys the trauma of a woman who has to deal with unjust religious strictures.
Gurvinder Singh from Punjab won the best direction award for his film Anhe Ghorey Da Daan .
Tamil film Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai was named the best popular film while its lead Appu Kutty won the best supporting actor award.
Leishangthem Tonthoingambi Devi was named the best supporting actress for her role in Manipuri film Phijigee Mani .
Onir’s I Am , a compilation four different stories about identity, was named the best Hindi film. The film also won in the best lyrics category for Amitabh Bhattacharya—written Agar Zindagi .