Veteran director K Balachander, known for his masterpieces Iru Kodugal, Apoorva Raagangal and Ek Duuje Ke Liye, was today conferred the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award by President Pratibha Patil, who also gave away National Awards in 36 other categories.
The 81-year-old writer-director-producer, who introduced cinema talents like Kamal Hasan, Rajnikanth, Prakash Raj and Sri Devi, has produced more than 60 films in his career and directed nearly 100 films in his career in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi.
At the 58th National Award ceremony, the veteran filmmaker received a standing ovation from a star studded gathering. The award consists of a Swarna Kamal, a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh and a shawl.
Awards in 36 other categories were also presented. Director Salim Ahmed and co-producer Ashraf Bedi got the coveted ‘Swarna Kamal’ and a cash prize of Rs 2.5 lakh each for their acclaimed Malayalam movie Adaminte Makan Abu.
Bollywood celebrity producers Arbaaz Khan, his wife Malaika Arora and director Abhnav Singh Kashyap were awarded the ‘Swarna Kamal’ and a cash award of Rs 2 lakh each for their flick Dabangg.
The Nargis Dutt award for best feature film was given away to Gautam Ghose-directed Bengali film Moner Manush, based on the life of Baul singers.
Hailing Balachander’s creative genius, Patil said, “He has made films not in one language, but in many – Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi. He has also been a mentor to many actors and technicians, many of whom have made a mark in Indian cinema.”
Four child artists were given National Awards this time — Harsh Mayar for I am Kalam, Shantanu Ranganekar and Machindra Gadekar for Champions and Vivek Chabukswar for Baboo Band Baaja.
Bollywood actors Mahi Gill and Rajat Kapur anchored the proceedings.
Ninety-year-old author Vijaya Mulay was the first one to walk up the podium to receive the ‘Swarna Kamal’ for best book on cinema.
The best actor was shared by Rajnikanth’s son-in-law K Dhanush (Aadukalam, Tamil) and Salim Kumar (Adaminte Makan Abu, Malayalam). The best actress award was also shared by Mitalee Jagtap Varadkar (Baboo Band Baaja, Marathi) and Saranya Ponvannan (Thenmerkku Paruvakkatru, Tamil).
The Indira Gandhi Award for Best debut film was given to Baboo Band Baaja (Marathi), directed by Rajesh Pinjani.
The Award for the Best Hindi Film was given to Do Dooni Chaar, produced by Arindam Chaudhuri and directd by Habib Faisal.
Aadukalam won six awards – best director (Vetri Maaran), best actor, best screenplay (Original), best editing, best choreography, and a special mention to V I S Jayapalan, who is a Sri Lankan actor.
Adaminte Makan Abu won four awards, so did Ishqiya– Best Audiography (2), Best Music Direction and Best Female Playback Singer.