The 63rd National Film Awards was an award ceremony during which the Directorate of Film Festivals of India presented its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2015 in Indian cinema. The awards were announced on 28 March 2016 and the ceremony was held on 3 May 2016.
Selection process
The Directorate of Film Festivals invited nominations for the awards in January 2016. The acceptable last date for entries was until 13 January 2016. Feature and Non-Feature Films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2015 were eligible for the film award categories. Books, critical studies, reviews or articles on cinema published in Indian newspapers, magazines, and journals published between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2015 were eligible for the best writing on cinema section. Entries of dubbed, revised or copied versions of a film or translation, abridgements, edited or annotated works and reprints were ineligible for the awards.
For the Feature and Non-Feature Films sections, films in any Indian language, shot on 16 mm, 35 mm, a wider film gauge or a digital format, and released in cinemas, on video or digital formats for home viewing were eligible. Films were required to be certified as a feature film, a featurette or a Documentary/Newsreel/Non-Fiction by the Central Board of Film Certification.
Best Film Friendly State The awards aim at encouraging study and appreciation of cinema as an art form and dissemination of information and critical appreciation of this art-form through a State Government Policy.
AwardName of StateCitationBest Film Friendly StateState of Gujarat Film Policy for Promotion of Gujarati Cinema.
Dadasaheb Phalke Award
Introduced in 1969, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the highest award given to recognise the contributions of film personalities towards the development of Indian cinema and for distinguished contributions to the medium, its growth and promotion.
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 Lata Mangeshkar Asha Bhosle Nitin Mukesh Salim Khan Anup Jalota Name of AwardImageAwardee(s)Awarded AsAwardsDadasaheb Phalke Award Manoj Kumar Actor, filmmakerSwarna Kamal, and a Shawl
Feature films
Feature films will be awarded at All India as well as regional level. Following will be the awards given in each category:
Juries
A committee headed by Ramesh Sippy was appointed to evaluate the feature films awards. Following were the jury members:
Jury Members Ramesh Sippy (Chairperson)Gangai AmaranSandip DattaJohn Matthew MatthanDharam GulatiGyan SahayS. R. LeelaK. VasuSatish KaushikShyamaprasadMunin Barua
All India Award
Following will be 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 FilmBaahubali: The Beginning TeluguProducer: Shobu Yarlagadda & Arka Media Works (P) LTD.director: S. S. Rajamouli 250,000/- EachBest Debut Film of a DirectorMasaanHindi Producer: Phantom FilmsDirector: Neeraj Ghaywan 1,25,000/- EachBest Popular Film Providing Wholesome EntertainmentBajrangi BhaijaanHindiProducer: Salman Khan & Rockline VenkateshDirector: Kabir Khan 200,000/- EachBest Children's FilmDurontoHindiProducer: Code Red FilmsDirector: Soumendra Padhi 150,000/- EachBest DirectionBajirao MastaniHindiSanjay Leela Bhansali 250,000/-
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 IntegrationNanak Shah Fakir PunjabiProducer: Gurbani MediaDirector: 150,000/- Each forBest Film on Other Social IssuesNirnayakam MalayalamProducer: Jayraj FilmsDirector: V. K. Prakash 150,000/- EachBest Film on Environment/Conservation/PreservationValiya Chirakulla Pakshikal MalayalamProducer: Dr. A. K. PillaiDirector: Dr. Biju 150,000/- EachBest ActorPikuHindiAmitabh Bachchan 50,000/-Best ActressTanu Weds Manu ReturnsHindiKangana Ranaut 50,000/-Best Supporting ActorVisaranaiTamilSamuthirakani 50,000/-Best Supporting Actress Bajirao Mastani HindiTanvi Azmi 50,000/-Best Child ArtistBen Malayalam Gourav Menon 50,000/-Best Male Playback SingerKatyar Kaljat Ghusali MarathiMahesh Kale 50,000/-Best Female Playback SingerDum Laga Ke HaishaHindiMonali Thakur 50,000/-Best Cinematography Bajirao Mastani Hindi Sudeep Chatterjee 50,000/-Best ScreenplayPikuHindiJuhi Chaturvedi 50,000/-Tanu Weds Manu ReturnsHindiHimanshu SharmaBest ScreenplayTalvarHindiVishal Bhardwaj 50,000/-Best ScreenplayPikuHindiJuhi Chaturvedi 50,000/-Tanu Weds Manu ReturnsHindiHimanshu SharmaBest AudiographyTalvarHindi Sanjay Kurian 50,000/-Best AudiographyBajirao MastaniHindi Biswadeep Chatterjee 50,000/-Best AudiographyBajirao MastaniHindiJustin Jose 50,000/-Best EditingVisaranaiTamilKishore Te 50,000/-Best Art DirectionBajirao Mastani Hindi Shriram IyengarSaloni DhatrakSujeet Sawant 50,000/-Best Costume DesignNanak Shah FakirPunjabi Payal Saluja 50,000/-Best Make-up ArtistNanak Shah FakirPunjabi Preetisheel SinghClover Wootton 50,000/-Best Music DirectionEnnu Ninte Moideen ()MalayalamM. Jayachandran 50,000/-Best Music DirectionTharai ThappattaiTamilIlaiyaraaja 50,000/-Best LyricsDum Laga Ke HaishaHindiVarun Grover 50,000/-Best Special EffectsBaahubali: The Beginning TeluguV. Srinivas Mohan 50,000/-Best ChoreographyBajirao MastaniHindiRemo D'Souza 50,000/-Special Jury AwardMargarita with a Straw HindiKalki Koechlin (Actress) 200,000/-Special MentionSairatMarathiRinku Rajguru (Actress)Certificate only Su Su Sudhi VathmeekamLukka Chuppi MalayalamJayasurya (Actor)Irudhi SuttruTamilRitika Singh (Actress)
Regional Awards
The award is given to best film in the regional languages of India.
Name of AwardName of FilmAwardee(s)Cash prizeProducer(s)DirectorBest Feature Film in AssameseKothanodiAnurupa HazarikaBhaskar Hazarika 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in BengaliShankhachilNideas Creations & Productions Pvt LtdGoutam Ghose 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in BodoDau Huduni MethaiShankarlal GoenkaManju Borah 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in Hindi Dum Laga Ke HaishaManeesh SharmaYash Raj FilmsSharat Katariya 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in Kannada ThithiPrspctvs Productions Pvt Ltd.Raam Reddy 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in Konkani EnemyA. Durga PrasadDinesh P. Bhonsle 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in MaithiliMithila MakhaanNeetu ChandraSamir KumarNitin Chandra 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in MalayalamPathemariAllens MediaSalim Ahamed 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in ManipuriEibusu YaohanbiyuYunman Hitalar (Neta) SinghMaipaksana Haorongbam 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in MarathiRinganMy Role Motion PicturesMakarand Mane 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in OriyaPahada ra luhaMohapatra Movie Magic Pvt. Ltd.Sabyasachi Mohapatra 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in PunjabiChauthi KootNFDCKartikeya SinghGurvinder Singh 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in SanskritPriyamanasamBaby Mathew SomatheeramVinod Mankara 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in TamilVisaranaiWunderbar FilmsVetri Maaran 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in TeluguKancheY. Rajeev ReddyRadha Krishna Jagarlamudi (Krish) 100,000/- Each
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 prizeProducer(s)DirectorBest Feature Film in Haryanvi SatrangiPunam Deswal SharmaSundeep Sharma 100,000/- EachBest Feature Film in Khasi OnaatahPomu DasMarjina KurbahPradip Kurbah 100,000/- Each Best Feature Film in Mizo Kima's Lode Beyond the ClassChildren's Film SocietyZualaa Chhangte 100,000/- Each Best Feature Film in Wancho The Head HunterSplash Films Private LimitedNilanjan Datta 100,000/- Each
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.
Golden Lotus Award
Official Name: Swarna Kamal
All the awardees were awarded with the 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.
Name of AwardName of FilmLanguageAwardee(s)Cash prizeBest Non-Feature Film Amdavad Ma Famous GujratiProducer: Akanksha Tewari & Arya A. MenonDirector: Hardik Mehta 100,000/- EachBest Non-Feature Film Direction Kamuki MalayalamProducer: Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute Director: Christo Tomy 50,000/- Each
Silver Lotus Award
Official Name: Rajat Kamal
All the Awardees were awarded with the 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)' and cash prize.
Name of AwardName of FilmLanguageAwardee(s)Cash prizeBest First Non-Feature Film Daaravtha MarathiProducer: Nishantroy Bombarde Director: Nishantroy Bombarde 50,000/- EachBest Anthropological / Ethnographic Film Aoleang EnglishProducer: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies Director: Ranajit Ray Assistant Director: Goutam Sharma 50,000/- EachBest Biographical Film / Best Historical Reconstruction / Compilation Film Life in Metaphors: A Portrait of Girish Kasaravalli English And KannadaProducer: Reelism Film Director: O.P. Shrivastava 50,000/- EachBest Arts / Cultural FilmA Far Afternoon – A Painted SagaYazhpanam Thedchanamoorthy – Music Beyond BoundariesHindi, English TamilProducer: Piramal Art FoundationDirector: Sruti Harihara SubramanianProducer: Siddhartha ProductionsDirector: Amshan Kumar 50,000/- Each (Cash Component to be shared)Best Environment Film including Best Agricultural FilmThe Man who Dwarfed the Mountains God on the EdgeHindi, EnglishEnglish, BengaliProducer: Rajiv Mehrotra, PSBT Director: Ruchi Shrivastava & Sumit Sunderlal KhannaProducer: Elements Picture StudioDirector: Ashok Patel 50,000/- Each (Cash Component to be shared)Best Promotional Film Weaves of Maheshwar Hindi, EnglishProducer: Storyloom Films Director: Keya Vaswani & Nidhi Kamath 50,000/- EachBest Film on Social IssuesAuto DriverManipuriProducer: Oinam Doren, Longjam Meena DeviDirector: Longjam Meena Devi 50,000/- EachBest Educational / Motivational / Instructional Film Paywat MarathiProducer: Mithunchandra Chaudhari Director: Nayana Dolas & Mithunchandra Chaudhari 50,000/- EachBest Exploration / Adventure Film Dribbling with their Future KannadaProducer: N. Dinesh Raj Kumar & Mathew Verghese Director: Jacob Verghese 50,000/- EachBest Investigative Film Tezpur 1962EnglishProducer: Films Division of India Director: Samujjal Kashyap 50,000/- EachBest Animation Film Fisherwoman and TukTuk No DialoguesProducer: Nilima Eriyat Director: Suresh Eriyat Animator: Studio Eeksaurus Productions Private Limited 50,000/- EachBest Short Fiction Film Aushadh MarathiProducer: Amol Deshmukh Director: Amol Deshmukh 50,000/- EachBest Film on Family Welfare Best Friends Forever EnglishProducer: Syed Sultan Ahmed (Edumedia India Pvt. Ltd.)Director: Sandeep Modi 50,000/- EachBest Cinematography Benaras- The Unexplored Attachments BengaliCameraman: Amartya Bhattacharyya Laboratory Processing: 50,000/- EachBest Audiography Edpa Kana Kudukh Moumita Roy 50,000/-Best Editing Breaking Free English Parvin Angre and Sridhar Rangayan 50,000/-Best Music Direction A Far Afternoon- A Painted Saga Hindi, English Aravind – Shankar 50,000/-Special Jury Award In Search Of Fading Canvas Hindi Producer: Films Division Director: Manohar Singh Bisht 50,000/- EachSpecial MentionThe ChameleoneEnglishArun ShankarCertificate onlyAmmaMalayalamNeelanSyaahiMarathiVarun Tandon
Best Writing on Cinema
The awards aim at encouraging study and appreciation of cinema as an art form and dissemination of information and critical appreciation of this art-form through publication of books, articles, reviews etc.
Golden Lotus Award