The 57th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 2009.
Three different committees were instituted in order to judge the various entries for feature film, non-feature film and best writing on cinema sections; headed by National award winner director, Ramesh Sippy, for feature films and Mike Pandey along with Samik Bandyopadhyay for non-feature films and best writing on cinema sections, respectively. Another committee of five members was also constituted for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
Each chairperson for feature film, non-feature film and best writing on cinema sections announced the award on 15 September 2010 for their respective sections and award ceremony took place at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi with President of India, Pratibha Patil giving away the awards on 22 October 2010.
Dadasaheb Phalke award for D. Ramanaidu was announced prior to the announcement of 57th National Film Awards on 9 September 2010.
With 57th National Film Awards, for feature film section, National Film Award for Best Screenplay, Best Audiography and Best Music Direction have been split into multiple awards to felicitate different aspect of the techniques. Best Screenplay would now cover Original and Adapted Screenplay along with Dialogues. National Film Award for Best Audiography have been sub-categorized into Location sound recordist, Sound designer and Re-recordist of the final mixed track; whereas Best Music Direction will be given for Songs and Background score, separately. All the awardee will be awarded with Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus).
Awards
Awards were divided into feature films, non-feature films and books written on Indian cinema.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Lifetime achievement award is given to the prominent personality from the Indian film industry for the significant contributions given.
Juries
A committee consisting five eminent personalities from Indian film industry was appointed to evaluate the lifetime achievement award, Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Following were the jury members:
Jury Members Yash ChopraAkkineni Nageswara RaoJaved AkhtarJagjit SinghAsha Parekh
Name of AwardImageAwardee(s)Awarded AsAwardsDadasaheb Phalke AwardD. RamanaiduProducerSwarna Kamal, 1,000,000 and a Shawl
Feature films
Films made in any Indian language shot on 16 mm, 35 mm or in a wider gauge or digital format but released on a film format or video/digital but certified by the Central Board of Film Certification as a feature film or featurette are eligible for Feature Film section.
A total of 20 films were awarded in this category at the National Awards. Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 57th National Film Awards, a Malayalam film, Kutty Srank won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film also winning the maximum number of awards (5). Following were the awards given in each category:
Juries
A committee headed by Ramesh Sippy was appointed to evaluate the feature films awards. The selection process returned to a Two Tier System of Selection. The Chairperson for the Northern Region was Sushma Seth, for the Western Region, M. S. Sathyu, for South–I Region, T. S. Nagabharana, for the Eastern Region, B. Lenin and for South- II Region, Pinaki Chaudhari. Following were the jury members:
Jury Members Ramesh Sippy (Chairperson)M. S. SathyuT. S. NagabharanaPinaki ChaudhuriB. Lenin Sushma SethBhanu AthaiyaMaithili RaoHari KumarFeroz Abbas KhanSarosh Italiaa Jury Regional : North Sushma SethBirendra Nath TiwariRama VijSaryu V. DoshiApurwa Yagnik Jury Regional : West M. S. SathyuRamdas PhutaneRanjeetKuldip SudFowzia Fathima Jury Regional : South-I (Tamil and Malayalam) T. S. NagabharanaAgathiyanR. SarathSanjeev SivanPrem Sagar Jury Regional : South-II (Kannada and Telugu) Pinaki ChaudhuriChandrasiddarthV. N. LaxminarayanaSuresh KrishnaPrabodh Parikh Jury Regional : East B. LeninMakhonmani MongsabaAniruddha Roy ChowdhuryVidya Rao NairJeroo Mulla
All India Award
Following were the awards given:
Golden Lotus Award
Official Name: Swarna Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.
Name of AwardName of FilmLanguageAwardee(s)Cash prizeBest Feature FilmKutty SrankMalayalamProducer: Reliance Big PicturesDirector: Shaji N. Karun 2,50,000/- EachCitation: For its vision and cinematic craft that express the different perspectives of three women about the truth of the man in their lives.Best Debut Film of A DirectorLahoreHindiProducer: Vivek KhatkarDirector: Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan 1,25,000/- EachCitation: For excellent control over the medium and using sport as a metaphor to tell a compelling story.Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment3 IdiotsHindiProducer: Vidhu Vinod ChopraDirector: Rajkumar Hirani 2,00,000/- EachCitation: For an intelligent entertainer that touches upon the contemporary concerns of society with great humour and engaging performances.Best Children's FilmPutaani PartyKannadaProducer: Children's Film SocietyDirector: Ramchandra P. N. 37,500/- EachCitation: For the novel idea of empowering children to work as a Panchayat to combat alcoholism that destroys their future.KeshuMalayalamProducer: Children's Film Society, IndiaDirector: SivanCitation: For the sensitivity that explores the lonely world of a specially abled child and the inability of adults to recognise the genius in him.Best DirectionAbohomaanBengaliRituparno Ghosh 2,50,000/-Citation: For the many layered narrative of emotional conflict, rich texture and ensemble performances.
Silver Lotus Award
Official Name: Rajat Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.
Name of AwardName of FilmLanguageAwardee(s)Cash prizeBest Feature Film on National IntegrationDelhi-6HindiProducer: Rakeysh Omprakash MehraDirector: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra 1,50,000/- EachCitation: For its uncompromising stance towards communal divide and offering a humanistic solution of taking individual responsibility.Best Film on Other Social IssuesWell Done AbbaHindiProducer: Reliance Big PicturesDirector: Shyam Benegal 1,50,000/- EachCitation: For a socio-political satire about a common man's fight for justice against an all pervasive corrupt system.Best ActorPaaHindiAmitabh Bachchan 50,000/-Citation: For a rare performance that fuses the art and craft of an actor to create a character that lives with you long after the film is over.Best ActressAbohomaanBengaliAnannya Chatterjee 50,000/-Citation: For the exquisite detailing of a complex character through different stages of the professional and personal life of an actress.Best Supporting ActorLahoreHindiFarooq Sheikh 50,000/-Citation: For the consummate ease with which he persuades and inspires everyone around him while retaining his integrity and dignity.Best Supporting ActressPaaHindiArundathi Nag 50,000/-Citation: For the restraint with which she conveys strength, compassion and understanding to her daughter, a single mother, bringing up a son stricken with a rare degenerative disease.Best Child ArtistPasangaTamilSree Raam Kishore 50,000/-Citation: For the spirited performance of a protagonist and an antagonist who are incomplete without each other. The two young shoulders carry the narrative through a delightful journey.Best Male Playback SingerMahanagar@KolkataBengaliRupam Islam 50,000/-Citation: For the deeply felt emotional resonance and a haunting lilt that evokes the thematic ambience of the film.Best Female Playback SingerHousefulBengaliNilanjana Sarkar 50,000/-Citation: For the haunting texture of a voice that blends the melody, words and rhythm.Best CinematographyKutty SrankMalayalamCameraman: Anjuli ShuklaLaboratory Processing: Adlabs Films Ltd. 50,000/- EachCitation: For the breathtaking sweep that captures the magical mystery of a multilayered narrative.Best ScreenplayKutty SrankMalayalamP. F. MathewsHarikrishna 25,000/- EachCitation: For the mysterious narrative that weaves together multiple perspectives to create a coherent whole, and yet leaves a haunting ambiguity.Best ScreenplayKanasemba KudureyaneriKannadaGopal Krishan PaiGirish Kasaravalli 25,000/- EachCitation: For linking the theme of death and its inevitability through a narrative style that presents two versions of the same event, not necessarily in chronological order.Best ScreenplayPasangaTamilPandiraj 50,000/-Citation: For the conversational quality with its cutting edge wit and life like freshness.Best AudiographyKamineyHindiSubash Sahoo 50,000/-Citation: For excellent live sound quality with the right tonal balance, capturing all the ambient sounds.Best AudiographyKeralavarma PazhassirajaMalayalamResul Pookutty 50,000/-Citation: For creating an outstanding aural landscape that transports you to a historical era.Best Audiography3 IdiotsHindiAnup Dev 50,000/-Citation: For the fine amalgamation of different elements of sound to create the right ambience and perspective of the film image.Best EditingAbohomaanBengaliArghyakamal Mitra 50,000/-Citation: For a very precise juxtaposition of time and space, allowing every frame to unravel the story with a keen sense of rhythm and pace.Best Art DirectionDelhi-6HindiSamir Chanda 50,000/-Citation: For a very convincing match of actual locations with detailed, recreated sets.Best Costume DesignKutty SrankMalayalamJayakumar 50,000/-Citation: For capturing the essence of period and characters with the right blend of colour, style and texture.Best Make-up ArtistPaaHindiChristien TinsleyDominie Till 50,000/-Citation: For authentic, detailed creation of a heart-warming character stricken by a fatal disease.Best Music DirectionDev.DHindiAmit Trivedi 50,000/-Citation: For the innovative composition that blend contemporary and folk sounds.Best Music DirectionKeralavarma PazhassirajaMalayalamIlaiyaraaja 50,000/-Citation: For creating epic grandeur by fusing symphonic orchestration with traditional Indian instrumentation.Best Lyrics3 IdiotsHindiSwanand Kirkire 50,000/-Citation: For the simplicity and depth of feelings conveyed through evocative imagery.Best Special EffectsMagadheeraTeluguR. C. Kamal Kannan 50,000/-Citation: For the stunning use of special effects to enhance the visual sweeps of the fantastical story telling.Best ChoreographyMagadheeraTeluguK. Sivasankar 50,000/-Citation: For breath taking energy and innovation.Special Jury AwardKamineyKeralavarma PazhassirajaKutty SrankHindiMalayalamMalayalamA. Sreekar Prasad (Editor) 2,00,000/-Citation: For his continued pursuance of excellence to the art and craft of editing, covering a range of themes and styles.Special MentionPadmapriya (Actress)Certificate OnlyCitation: For the range and skill of an actor to portray varied characters in films of different languages.
Regional Awards
The award is given to best film in the regional languages in India.