The 40th 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 1992. Ceremony took place in 1993.
Awards
Awards were divided into feature films, non-feature films and books written on Indian cinema.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Name of AwardImageAwardee(s)Awarded AsAwardsDadasaheb Phalke AwardBhupen HazarikaMusic directorSwarna Kamal, and a Shawl
Feature films
Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 40th National Film Awards, a Sanskrit film, Bhagavad Gita won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film and a Tamil film, Thevar Magan won the maximum number of awards (5). Following were the awards given in each category:
Juries
A committee headed by Balu Mahendra was appointed to evaluate the feature films awards. Following were the jury members:
Jury Members Balu Mahendra (Chairperson)Sai ParanjpyeSwapan Kumar GhoshK. D. ShoreyHema MehtaT. S. MohanaBijaya JenaV. K. PavithranBasu ChatterjeeSurinder SinghAnil SaariSabyasachi MohapatraT. S. NagabharanaSurjya Hazarika
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 FilmBhagavad GitaSanskritProducer: T. Subbarami Reddy 50,000/-director: G. V. Iyer 25,000/-Citation: For successfully translating immortal philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita into a cinematic idiom.Best DirectionPadma Nadir MajhiBengaliGautam Ghose 50,000/-Citation: For his stunningly convincing realisation of Manik Bandopadhyay's novel into a breathtaking cinematic experience.Best Debut Film of a DirectorMiss Beatty's ChildrenEnglishProducer: NFDC, Doordarshan and Rooks AVDirector: Pamela Rooks 25,000/- EachCitation: For an elegantly simple and sensitive depiction of a British missionary woman who fights the devdasi system in pre-independent India.Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome EntertainmentSargamMalayalamProducer: Bhavani 40,000/-Director: Hariharan 20,000/-Citation: For its delightful rendering of a family saga into a heartwarming musical film.Best Children's FilmMujhse Dosti KarogeHindiProducer: National Center of Films for Children and Young People 30,000/-Director: Gopi Desai 15,000/-Citation: For its gentle handling of a child who has exciting adventures in his own social dream world.
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 AwardAwardee(s)Name of FilmLanguageCash prizeSecond Best Feature FilmProducer: Government of West BengalPadma Nadir MajhiBengali 30,000/-Director: Gautam Ghose 15,000/-Citation: For depicting the plight of boat people of the river Padma in an unforgettable experience.Best ScreenplayM. T. Vasudevan NairSadayamMalayalam 10,000/-Citation: For an extremely well structured script.Best CinematographyCameraman: VenuLaboratory Processing: Prasad Film LaboratoriesMiss Beatty's ChildrenEnglish 15,000/-Citation: For his masterly, unobtrusive and technically excellent camera work.Best AudiographyN. PanduranganThevar MaganTamil 10,000/-Citation: For his extremely creative recording and mixing of the sound track, giving the film an added dimension.Best EditingM. S. ManiSargamMalayalam 10,000/-Citation: For imparting a natural rhythm to Sargam completely in time with its musical format.Best Art DirectionSamir ChandaRudaaliHindi 10,000/-Citation: For its realistic recreation of the desert scape, with its requisite architectural structures, both opulent and humble.Best Music DirectionA. R. RahmanRojaTamil 10,000/-Citation: For the harmonious blend of western and Karnatak classical music in Roja, the separate music systems complementing each other without losing their own identities.Best Costume DesignMala DeySimple KapadiaRudaaliHindi 10,000/-Citation: For the authentic designs they created to blend with the desert backdrop of Rajasthan.Best ActorMithun ChakrabortyTahader KathaBengali 10,000/-Citation: For his innovative performance which effectively captures the agony of a freedom fighter immediately after Independence.Best ActressDimple KapadiaRudaaliHindi 10,000/-Citation: For compelling interpretation of the tribulations of a lonely woman ravaged by a cruel society.Best Supporting ActorSunny DeolDaminiHindi 10,000/-Citation: For his outstanding portrayal of hardened and cynical lawyer who takes on new challenges in his quest for justice.Best Supporting ActressRevathiThevar MaganTamil 10,000/-Citation: For compelling and convincing performance of an innocent village girl, giving it an effortlessly charming naturalness.Best Child ArtistAmit PhalkeMujhse Dosti KarogeHindi 5,000/-Citation: For the sheer joy and versatility he brings to the portrayal of a lovable lad lost in his own dream world.Best Male Playback SingerRajkumarJeevana ChaitraKannada 10,000/-Citation: For his extraordinary rendering of a raga celebrating the all pervasive power of music.Best Female Playback SingerS. JanakiThevar MaganTamil 10,000/-Citation: For melodious rendering of an innocent love song.Best LyricsVairamuthuRojaTamil 10,000/-Citation: For his charming, simple poem which has been become a new nursery rhyme on the lips of every child in Tamil Nadu.Best Special EffectsShashilal K. NairAngaarHindi 10,000/-Citation: For his absolutely convincing miniature work.Best ChoreographyLaxmibai KolhapurkarEk Hota VidushakMarathi 10,000/-Citation: For successfully adapting a popular folk theatre form to the screen.Best Feature Film on National IntegrationProducer: Kavithalayaa ProductionsRojaTamil 30,000/-Director: Mani Ratnam 15,000/-Citation: For presenting a thrilling drama of the abduction of an Indian scientist by a self-proclaimed liberation army which later realises the futility of its anti-social activities.Best Film on Family WelfareProducer: Shankar GopeShwet Paatharer ThalaBengali 30,000/-Director: Prabhat Roy 15,000/-Citation: For its bold depiction of a widow who defies tradition.Best Film on Other Social IssuesProducer: G. V. Films Pvt. LtdNeenga Nalla IrukkanumTamil 30,000/-Director: Visu 15,000/-Citation: For its effective and purposeful plea for prohibition.Best Film on Environment / Conservation / PreservationProducer: Sadir Media Pvt. LtdCheluviHindi 30,000/-Director: Girish Karnad 15,000/-Citation: For its direct and effective communication of a threatening problem – deforestation.Special Jury AwardSivaji Ganeshan (Actor)Thevar MaganTamil 5,000/- EachKetan Mehta (Director)Maya MemsaabHindiSpecial MentionSibaprasad Sen (Director)Pasanda PanditBengaliCertificate OnlyCitation: For his refreshing directorial debut.
Regional Awards
The award is given to best film in the regional languages in India.
Name of AwardName of FilmAwardee(s)Cash prizeBest Feature Film in AssameseRailor Alir Dubori BanProducer: Pulak Gogoi 20,000/-Director: Pulak Gogoi 10,000/-Citation: For its innovative style in putting across the tragedy of the exploited poor and portraying their agony and helplessness in a poignant manner.Best Feature Film in BengaliTahader KathaProducer: NFDC 20,000/-Director: Buddhadeb Dasgupta 10,000/-Citation: For its most unusual and daring treatment of a very real socio-political issue in a metaphoric manner – the alienation of a freedom fighter from his country, now changed beyond recognition.Best Feature Film in HindiSuraj Ka Satvan GhodaProducer: NFDC 20,000/-Director: Shyam Benegal 10,000/-Citation: For its poetically charming enquiry into the nature and meaning of love.Best Feature Film in KannadaHarakeya KuriProducer: B. V. Radha 20,000/-Director: Lalitha Ravee (K. S. L. Swame) 10,000/-Citation: For its political satire depicting the present-day social situation wherein the innocent citizens are made pawns in the hands of politicians with vested interests.Best Feature Film in MalayalamSwaroopamProducer: P. T. K. Mohammed 20,000/-Director: K. R. Mohanan 10,000/-Citation: For its original concept and in-depth exploration of the psyche of a man who escapes into the mystic past to flee from the harsh reality of everyday life.Best Feature Film in MarathiEk Hota VidushakProducer: NFDC 20,000/-Director: Jabbar Patel 10,000/-Citation: For its humane portrait of simple tamash clown sucked in by the glittering world of show business and exploited by politicians.Best Feature Film in OriyaVinya SamayaProducer: Shankar Gope 20,000/-Director: Manmohan Mahapatra 10,000/-Citation: For its competent treatment of the corruption of modern youth in search of illusive wealth.Best Feature Film in TamilThevar MaganProducer: Kamal Haasan 20,000/-Director: Bharathan 10,000/-Citation: For its dynamic depiction of an educated youth who returns to his roots to fight injustice and in the process is forced to unleash the animal within him.Best Feature Film in TeluguAnkuramProducer: K. V. Suresh Kumar 20,000/-Director: C. Umamaheswara Rao 10,000/-Citation: For the struggle of a simple housewife who fights an oppressive system single-handed and succeeds in making a dent.
Best Feature Film in Each of the Language Other Than Those Specified in the Schedule VIII of the Constitution
Name of AwardName of FilmAwardee(s)Cash prizeBest Feature Film in EnglishElectric MoonProducer: S. S. Bedi 20,000/-Director: Pradip Krishen 10,000/-Citation: For its tongue-in-cheek parody of royalty gone to seed. A humorous depiction of a decaying way of life, not without its tragic undertones.
Non-Feature Films
Short Films made in any Indian language and certified by the Central Board of Film Certification as a documentary/newsreel/fiction are eligible for non-feature film section.
Juries
A committee headed by Ghanashyam Mohapatra was appointed to evaluate the non-feature films awards. Following were the jury members:
Jury Members Ghanashyam Mohapatra (Chairperson)Serbjeet SinghP. B. PendharkarLenin Rajendran
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 Non-Feature FilmIn Search of Indian TheatreEnglishProducer: Arundhati ChatterjeeDirector: Abhijit Chattopadhyay 15,000/- EachCitation: For a deep and sensitive insight into contemporary Indian theatre.
Silver Lotus Award
Official Name: Rajat Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)' and cash prize.