India’s National Film Awards: Asha Parekh wins Dadasaheb Phalke honour

The 68th National Film Awards, the most prestigious film awards in India, was held on Friday at New Delhi. Suriya and Ajay Devgn has jointly won the Best Actor award for their performance in the film, "Soorarai Pottru" and "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior", respectively.

Suriya won Best Actor for his portrayal of a founder of a commercial airline in the Tamil-language film "Soorarai Pottru," which also won Best Feature Film. Aparna Balamurali won best actress for her portrayal of his wife and business partner in the film. G.V. Prakash Kumar received the award for Best Music Director (background score), while Shalini Usha Nair and Sudha Kongara won the award for Best Screenplay.

Hindi-language historical epic "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior" about a Maratha warrior, which also received the prize for most popular film offering wholesome entertainment. Nachiket Barve and Mahesh Sherla won an award for the film's costume design.

Sachidanandan KR receives the best director award for the Malayalam film "AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum".

Veteran actor Asha Parekh received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award from President Droupadi Murmu.

"This is the best honour I could get from the government of India," she expressed her gratitude at the event.

Over 300 feature films and 150 non-feature films competed for the awards in 50 categories this year. The films are in 30 different languages.

Here are the top winners:

Best Feature Film: Soorarai Pottru

Best Director: Sachy, Ayyappanum Koshiyum

Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Tanhaji

Best Actor: Suriya for Soorarai Pottru and Ajay Devgn for Tanhaji

Best Actress: Aparna Balamurali, Soorarai Pottru

Best Supporting Actor: Biju Menon, Ayyappanum Koshiyam

Best Bengali Film: Avijatrik

Best Supporting Actress: Lakshmi Priya Chandramouli, Sivaranjaniyum Innam Sila Pengallum

Best Screenplay: Soorarai Pottru, Shalini Usha Nair and Sudha Kongara