The 50th 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 2002.
Awards were announced by the committee headed by Prakash Jha, Rajiv Mehrotra and Udaya Tara Nayar for the feature films, non-feature films and books written on Indian cinema, respectively, on 26 July 2003; whereas the award ceremony took place on 29 December 2003 and awards were given away by then President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
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 AwardDev AnandActor, director and producerSwarna Kamal, and a Shawl
Feature films
Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 50th National Film Awards, a Bengali film, Mondo Meyer Upakhyan won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film; whereas a Tamil film, Kannathil Muthamittal won the maximum number of awards (6). Following were the awards given in each category:
Juries
A committee headed by Prakash Jha was appointed to evaluate the feature films awards. Following were the jury members:
Jury Members Prakash Jha (Chairperson)Amitabh ParasharArun KaulBiju ViswanathBiplab Roy ChowdharyDinyar Contractor Gautam KaulK. S. L. SwamyKiran GhaiAlex MathewManoj TiwariMrinal Kanti DasMukesh Khanna Nasir Mahmood QuraishiNirad N. MohapatraShyamaprasadRauf AhmedS. Theodore Baskaran Saibal ChattopadhyaySreelekha MukherjiSwapan MallickZoobi Amir
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 FilmMondo Meyer UpakhyanBengaliProducer: Arya Bhattacharyadirector: Buddhadeb Dasgupta 50,000/- EachCitation: For its poetic exploration of human and social realities concerning people on the fringes of society.Best Debut Film of a DirectorPatalgharBengaliProducer: Niti Sonee GourisariaDirector: Abhijit Chaudhuri 12,500/- EachCitation: For its craftsmanship and fine blending of the conventions of science fiction and an indigenous narrative form.ProhorBengaliProducer: Debjani GuptaDirector: Subhadro ChaudharyCitation: For its use of sensitive idiom to portray the trauma of a brutalised woman.Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome EntertainmentDevdasHindiProducer: Bharat ShahDirector: Sanjay Leela Bhansali 40,000/- EachCitation: For its technical finesse and its modern reinterpretation of an enduring classic.Best Children's FilmBaajaHindiProducer: Children's Film SocietyDirector: Apurba Kishore Bir 30,000/- EachCitation: For its poignant, portrayal of the maturing of a young mind.Best DirectionMr. and Mrs. IyerEnglishAparna Sen 50,000/-Citation: For her effective and subtle handling of people caught in a trying and difficult times.
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 IntegrationMr. and Mrs. IyerEnglishProducer: N. VenkatesanDirector: Aparna Sen 30,000/- EachCitation: For its humane depiction of the bonding between two individuals of different religious backgrounds in the midst of communal tension.Best Film on Other Social IssuesSwaraajHindiProducer: George MathewDirector: Anwar Jamal 30,000/- EachCitation: For its strong and competent depiction of women's empowerment in rural India.Best ActorThe Legend of Bhagat SinghHindiAjay Devgn 10,000/-Citation: For entering into the spirit of the legendary character and for living up to the challenge of history.Best ActressMr. and Mrs. IyerEnglishKonkona Sen Sharma 10,000/-Citation: For her strong and effective portrayal of a Tamil Brahmin woman caught between an orthodox mindset and human compassion.Best Supporting ActorNanba NanbaTamilV. Chandrasekhar 10,000/-Citation: For his touching and absorbing portrayal of a physically challenged man.Best Supporting ActressShubho MahuratBengaliRaakhee 10,000/-Citation: For her finely balanced portrayal of an enigmatic and unlikely detective against a simple middle class background.Best Child ArtistMakdeeHindiShweta Prasad 5,000/- EachCitation: For her spontaneous and lively portrayal of twin sisters.Kannathil MuthamittalTamilP. S. KeerthanaCitation: For her heart vending portrayal of a girl in search of her mother.Best Male Playback SingerZindagi Khoobsurat HaiHindiUdit Narayan 10,000/-Citation: For his melodious rendering of the title song.Best Female Playback SingerDevdasHindiShreya Ghoshal 10,000/-Citation: For her soulful rendering of the song.Best CinematographyPatalgharBengaliCameraman: Abhik MukhopadhyayLaboratory Processing: Rainbow Color Lab 10,000/- EachCitation: For creating the distinctive and elegant visual ambience of the film that is excellently in tune with the mood of the story.Best ScreenplayMr. and Mrs. IyerEnglishAparna Sen 10,000/-Citation: For its fluid narration of the nuances of an ambiguous relationship in troubled times.Best AudiographyKannathil MuthamittalTamilA. S. Laxmi NarayananH. Sridhar 5,000/- EachCitation: For creating a sounds cape that heightens the dramatic conflicts of the story.Best EditingKannathil MuthamittalTamilA. Sreekar Prasad 10,000/-Citation: For heightening the dramatic conflicts of the story.Best Art DirectionDevdasHindiNitin Chandrakant Desai 10,000/-Citation: For creating an evocative visual setting for the romantic drama.Best Costume DesignDevdasHindiNeeta LullaAbu JaniSandeep KhoslaReza Shariffi 10,000/-Citation: For their researched, inventive, designing of costumes enhancing the persona of the various characters.Best Music DirectionKannathil MuthamittalTamilSongs and Background Score: A. R. Rahman 10,000/-Citation: For his original musical score highlighting the cultural conflicts and personal anguish in the story.Best LyricsKannathil MuthamittalTamilVairamuthu 10,000/-Citation: For rising above the conventions of film songs to reach the realms of poetry.Best Special EffectsMagic MagicTamilIndian Artists 10,000/-Citation: For the skilful use of digital technology to create a world of fantasy and magic.Best ChoreographyDevdasHindiSaroj Khan 10,000/-Citation: For her creation of captivating dance movements to reflect the spirit of the characters and the period.Special Jury AwardMultiple filmsPrakash Raj (Actor) 25,000/-Citation: For the impressive power and versatility, which he has contributed to films in multiple languages.Special MentionBhavamMalayalamJyothirmayi (Actress)Certificate OnlyCitation: For her remarkable performance.
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 AssameseKonikar RamdhenuProducer: Sailadhar BaruahDirector: Jahnu Barua 20,000/- EachCitation: For its sensitive portrayal of child abuse.Best Feature Film in BengaliShubho MahuratProducer: Jagannath FilmsDirector: Rituparno Ghosh 20,000/- EachCitation: For its intelligent handling of characters in a detective story.Best Feature Film in HindiThe Legend of Bhagat SinghProducer: Tips IndustriesDirector: Rajkumar Santoshi 20,000/- EachCitation: For its gripping portrayal of the life and times of a legendary martyr.Best Feature Film in KannadaSingaaravvaProducer: Sandesh NagarajDirector: T. S. Nagabharana 20,000/- EachCitation: For its stylised treatment of a folk tale.Best Feature Film in MalayalamNizhalkuthuProducer: Adoor GopalakrishnanDirector: Adoor Gopalakrishnan 20,000/- EachCitation: For its exploration of the mind of a hangman.Best Feature Film in MarathiVastupurushProducer: NFDCDirector: Sumitra Bhave and Sunil Sukthankar 20,000/- EachCitation: For its competent handling of a feudal family caught in the vortex of social change in post-independence India.Best Feature Film in TamilKannathil MuthamittalProducer: Madras TalkiesDirector: Mani Ratnam 20,000/- EachCitation: For its superb craftsmanship and commitment to a contemporary tragedy.
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 EnglishStumbleProducer: 2 Streams MediaDirector: Prakash Belawadi 20,000/- EachCitation: For its intelligent handling of corruption prevailing in the world of information technology.
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 Rajiv Mehrotra was appointed to evaluate the non-feature films awards. Following were the jury members:
Jury Members Rajiv Mehrotra (Chairperson)Apurba SharmaKanan KrishnamurthySatya NarayanSatya Prakash 'Aseem'
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 FilmNarayan Gangaram SurveMarathiProducer: Khayal TrustDirector: Arun Khopkar 20,000/- EachCitation: For the innovative telling of the story of the life of the great Marathi poet juxtaposed with the evocative visualisation of his poems. The film makes brilliant use of image and metaphor as it evolves a complex and powerful narrative.Best Non-Feature Film DirectionA Few Things I Know About HerEnglishAnjali Panjabi 10,000/- EachCitation: For the film on the saint Mirabai. With rare cinematic virtuosity, she brings together different strands from the elusive Mirabai's drawing upon stories, poetry, myth and legend into a cohesive whole.
Silver Lotus Award
Official Name: Rajat Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)' and cash prize.