National Film Awards 2022: Kantara, Attam, and regional cinema steal the spotlight

In the 70th National Film Awards for 2022, regional cinema and fresh talent won honours alongside established filmmakers. Here are the highlights.

The 70th National Film Awards for 2022 were announced on Friday, August 16, 2024, highlighting the wide range of talent that lies in Indian cinema. Rishab Shetty's Kannada film Kantara won twice, taking home Best Actor and Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Nithya Menen and Manasi Parekh won Best Actress for Thiruchitrambhalam and Kutch Express respectively. Sooraj R. Barjatya was honoured with Best Direction for Uunchai. The debut film Fouja by Pramod Kumar made a significant impact, while Ponniyin Selvan shone with wins in cinematography, sound design, and music direction. Want to read the full list of winners?

Also Read: Khel Khel Mein: Funny in parts, yet confused in its narrative

Here you go!

Best Feature Film: Aattam: The Play

Best Direction - Sooraj R Barjatya for Uunchai

Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment - Kantara by Rishab Shetty

Best Debut Film of a Director - Pramod Kumar for Fouja

Best Actor - Rishabh Shetty for Kantara

Best Actress - Nithya Menen for Thiruchitrambhalam and Manasi Parekh for Kutch Express

Best Supporting Actor - Pavan Raj Malhotra for Fouja

Best Supporting Actress - Neena Gupta for Uunchai

Best Child Artist - Sreepath for Malikappuram

Best Cinematography - Ravi Varmam for Ponniyin Selvan 1

Best Screenplay - Anand Ekarshi for Aatam

Best Dialogue Writer - Arpita Mukherjee and Rahul V Chittela for Gulmohar

Best Production Design - Ananda Addhya for Aparajito

Best Action Choreography - Anbariv for KGF Chapter 2

Best Make-Up Artist - Somnath Kundu for Aparajito

Best Costume Design - Niki Joshi for Kutch Express

Best Music Direction for Songs - Pritam for Brahmastra: Part 1 - Shiva

Best Music Direction for Background Scores - AR Rahman for Ponniyin Selvan 2

Best Lyrics - Naushad Sadar Khan for ‘Salaami’ in Fouja

Best Male Playback Singer - Arijit Singh for ‘Kesariya’ from Brahmastra: Part 1 - Shiva

Best Female Playback Singer - Bombay Jayashri for ‘Chaayum Veyil’ from Saudi Vellakka

Best Choreography - Jani Master and Sathish Krishnan for ‘Megham Karukatha’ in Thiruchitrambalam

Best Sound Design - Anand Krishnamoorthy for Ponniyin Selvan - Part 1

Best Editing - Mahesh Bhuvanend for Aattam

Special Jury Award - Manoj Bajpayee for Gulmohar and Sanjoy Chowdhury for Kadhikan

Best Feature Film In Assamese - Emuthi Puthi by Kulanandini Mahanta

Best Feature Film In Bengali - Kaberi Antardhan by Kaushik Gangula

Best Feature Film In Hindi - Gulmohar by Rahul V. Chittella

Best Feature Film In Kannada - KGF: Chapter 2 by Prashanth Neel

Best Feature Film In Malayalam - Saudi Vellakka by Tharun Moorthy

Best Feature Film In Marathi - Vaalvi by Paresh Mokashi

Best Feature Film In Tiwa - Sikaisal by Dr. Bobby Sarma Baruah

Best Feature Film in Odia - Daman by Vishal Mourya and Debi Prasad Lenka

Best Feature Film In Punjabi - Baghi Di Dhee by Mukesh Gautam

Best Feature Film In Tamil - Ponniyin Selvan Part 1, by Mani Ratnam

Best Feature Film In Telugu - Karthikeya 2, Chandoo Mondeti

Best Film in Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic - Brahmastra: Part 1 - Shiva, by Ayan Mukherji

Best Feature Film promoting National, Social, and Environmental Values - Kutch Express by Viral Shah

Non-feature films categories:

Best Non-Feature Film - Ayena by Siddhant Sarin

Best Documentary - Murmurs of the Jungle by Sahil Vaidya

Best Non-Feature Film Direction - Miriam Chandy Menacherry for From The Shadow

Best Script - Koushik Sarkar for Mono No Aware

Best Narration/Voice Over - Sumant Shinde for Murmurs Of The Jungle

Best Animated Film - A Coconut Tree by Joshy Benedict

Best Editing - Suresh URS for Madhyantara

Best Sound Design - Manas Choudhury for Yaan

Best Cinematography - Siddharth Diwan for Mono No Aware

Best Short Film - Xunyota by Nabapan Deka

Best Debut Film of a Director - Basti Dinesh Shenoy for Madhyantara

Best Non-Feature Film Music Direction - Vishal Bharadwaj for Fursat

Best Arts and Culture Film - Ranga Vibhoga by Suneel Narasimhachar Puranik and Varsa by Sachin Balasaheb Suryawanshi

Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction/Compilation Film - Aanaki Ek Mohenjo Daro by Ashok Rane

Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values - On The Brink Season 2: Gharial by Akansha Sood Singh

Special Mention - Birubala by Aimee Baruah and Hargila - The Greater Adjutant Stork by Partha Sarathi Mahant

Best Book On Cinema - Kishore Kumar: The Ultimate Biography by Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Parthiv Dhar

Best Film Critic - Deepak Dua (Hindi)