69th National Awards: Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon, Allu Arjun Receive Their Prizes

Images from the National Awards Ceremony (Courtesy: YouTube)

The 69th National Film Awards ceremony was held in New Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan today and the awards were presented by President Droupadi Murmu. The winners of the National Awards for the year 2021, announced in August, include Allu Arjun (Best Actor), Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon (Best Actress) and the teams of the films RRR, Sardar Udham, Gangubai Kathiawadi and The Kashmir Files, all of which won more than one award. Rocketry: The Nambi Effect won Best Feature Film. The Dada Saheb Phalke Award, India's highest film honour, went to legendary actress Waheeda Rehman.

Alia Bhatt collected her Best Actress award wearing her Sabyasachi wedding saree with flowers in her hair. Alia, who was accompanied by husband Ranbir Kapoor, said on the red carpet, "The only word on my forehead today is gratitude." Alia, who was awarded for her performance in and as Gangubai Kathiawadi, described her National Award win as a "pinch me moment."

Like Alia, Kriti Sanon also wore a cream saree and flowers in her hair. Kriti shared the Best Actress prize with Alia for her performance in the film Mimi, in which she played a surrogate mother. She said on the red carpet that she felt "blessed and fortunate" to have been able to play such a layered role and that "it felt right" even before she began filming.

Allu Arjun, who received the Best Actor award for Pushpa: The Rise, said on the red carpet that winning for a commercial film was a "double achievement." Allu Arjun, one of Telugu cinema's biggest stars, played the titular gangster in Pushpa: The Rise and will reprise the role in the sequel Pushpa: The Rule.

R Madhavan collected the Best Feature Film for Rocketry: The Nambi Effect which he directed. "My God, it's been worth it," he said on the red carpet.

National Award-winners Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon, Karan Johar and Dharma Productions CEO Apoorva Mehta flew out of Mumbai ahead of the ceremony. Allu Arjun, SS Rajamouli and MM Keeravaani were spotted at Delhi airport on Monday.

Here is the list of winners in the feature film category.

BEST FILM - Rocketry: The Nambi Effect

BEST DIRECTOR - Nikhil Mahajan (Godavari)

BEST ACTRESS

Alia Bhatt (Gangubai Kathiawadi)

Kriti Sanon (Mimi)

BEST ACTOR - Allu Arjun (Pushpa: The Rise)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Pallavi Joshi (The Kashmir Files)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Pankaj Tripathi (Mimi)

BEST POPULAR FILM - RRR

BEST CHILD ARTIST - Bhavin Rabari (Chhello Show)

INDIRA GANDHI AWARD FOR BEST DEBUT OF A DIRECTOR - Meppadiyan (Vishnu Mohan)