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)