President Droupadi Murmu on Friday conferred National Film Awards for the year 2020 under various categories at a ceremony held in the national capital. The prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award was conferred on veteran actor Asha Parekh.
Congratulating Parekh for her special contribution to the field of cinema, Murmu said that our sisters of that generation made their mark in various fields despite many constraints and the award given to the actor is also an honour for the indomitable female power.
Speaking on the occasion, the President further said that the film industry plays a major role in building a better society and nation. “Being an audio-visual medium, the influence of films is wider than other mediums of art. Cinema is not only an industry but also a medium of artistic expression of our culture and values. It is also a medium for connecting our society and for nation-building.”
Present on the occasion were Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of State for I&B Dr L Murugan, and secretary Apurva Chandra. Murmu presented more than 100 awards under the features and non-features film categories including most film-friendly state award which was jointly given to UP and Uttarakhand for their support of film shooting.
Hindu film Actor Ajay Devgn and Tamil actor Suriya Shivakumar shared the Best Actor Award while Aparna Balamurali was conferred the award for Best Actress. Sachidanandan KR was given the Best Director award for Malayalam movie AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum and Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior received the Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
Thakur said that cinema is poetry in pictures mirroring the magic, marvel and madness of all that which makes us feel alive and human. “Cinema has captured and carved the conscience, community and culture of our country,” said the minister on the occasion.
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