New Delhi: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday conferred superstar Rajinikanth with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award and honoured the other winners of the 67th National Film Awards.
The vice president said while the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the ceremony by almost two years, he was happy to finally present the awards to the country's most talented artists from the film industry.
"I'm very happy to be here and I congratulate all the winners and everyone associated with these films," he said during the ceremony held at the Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Naidu said he was elated with the regional films, which he addressed as the national films, dominating the winners' list.
Rajinikanth thanked his mentor, late filmmaker K Balachander, in his speech.
"I'm extremely happy to receive this award... I dedicate this to my guru, my mentor K Balachander sir. I thank my brother Sathyanarayana Rao, he is a father figure in my life, for giving me great values...
"My friend, driver and transport colleague Raj Bahadur. He spotted the acting talent in me and encouraged me to join the cinema. All my producers and directors who have produced my films, technicians, artists, distributors, media, press and all my fans, and Tamil people..." the actor said after receiving Indian cinema's highest honour.
The ceremony was attended by all the winners including Rajinikanth, son-in-law Dhanush, who, along with Manoj Bajpayee, was given the best actor honour for "Asuran". Bajpayee, awarded for his performance in "Bhosle" said it feels great to be recognised. He has previously won the National Award for "Satya" and "Pinjar".
Dhanush dedicated his National Award win to his fans as he shared a photo of the Swarn Kamal medal on his Twitter page. He also shared a picture of him and Rajinikanth on Instagram and expressed his gratitude to the press and media for their "constant support".
Kangana Ranaut, the winner of the best actress award for her performance in "Manikarnika" and "Panga", paid tributes to her parents after getting her fourth National Award.
Director Priyadarshan's Malayalam film "Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham" was awarded the best feature film, while Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan received the best director trophy for his Hindi film "Bahattar Hoorain".
Actors Pallavi Joshi and Vijay Sethupathi were given the best-supporting actress and best supporting actor awards for their performances in films "The Tashkent Files" and "Super Deluxe", respectively.
Nitish Tiwari directorial "Chhichhore" was given the best Hindi film honour and the movie's producer, Sajid Nadiadwala, dedicated the award to the lead star of the movie, Late actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Nargis Dutt Award for the best feature film on national integration was received by the makers of "Tajmahal" (Marathi), while the best film on social issues trophy went to "Anandi Gopal" (Marathi). Indira Gandhi Award for best debut film of a director was given to Mathukutty Xavier for "Helen" (Malayalam).
Naga Vishal won the best child artist trophy for the Tamil film "Kruppu Durai". In the non-feature film category, 22 titles were given the National Film Award.
Sikkim was given the award for most film-friendly state and Sanjay Suri's book "A Gandhian Affair: India's Curious Portrayal of Love in Cinema" was named the best book on cinema.
The 67th National Awards which were announced in March this year honouring the best in cinema in 2019 delayed since last year due to the pandemic.