Banita Sandhu and co-star Vicky Kaushal. (courtesy: banitasandhu)
Shoojit Sircar's Sardar Udham won big at the 69th National Film Awards, winning not one but five honours. The biopic that follows the eponymous freedom fighter, won awards in these categories: Best Hindi Film, Best Audiography- Re-recording Final Mixing (Sinoy Joseph), Best Cinematography (Avik Mukhopadhayay), Best Costume Designer (Veera Kapur Ee) and Best Production Design (Dmitrii Malich and Mansi Dhruv Mehta). Following the announcement, the director as well as the cast of the film have been celebrating the wins on social media. Banita Sandhu, who plays a significant role in the movie, has shared a bunch of images from the sets of Sardar Udham as well as some stills from the film alongside a gratitude note. She wrote, “Best Hindi Film (Feature). Best Cinematography. Best Audiography. Best Costume Design. Best Production Design. What a team. Eternally grateful for you guys.”
Soon after the announcement of the winners, Vicky Kaushal, who essays the titular role in Shoojit Sircar's directorial, shared a gratitude post. The actor dropped a poster of Sardar Udham featuring himself, and dedicated the film's massive feat to late actor Irrfan Khan, who was originally set to portray the leading character. However, after his death in 2020, Vicky was brought on board to play Udham Singh. Now, while dedicating the win to Irrfan Khan, Vicky also congratulated the entire Sardar Udham team. The actor wrote, “Congratulations team!!! Honoured and grateful to be a part of Sardar Udham … To Irrfan Sir!”
Vicky Kaushal wasn't alone in remembering the late actor during this big day. Shoojit Sircar also dedicated his movie's victory at the 69th National Film Awards to Irrfan Khan. Sharing the same poster, the filmmaker wrote, “Dedicated to Irrfan Khan.”
Sardar Udham premiered on Prime Video in 2021. The biopic tracks the life of Udham Singh, who with an intention to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, assassinated the former Lieutenant Governor of Punjab—Michael O'Dwyer.
Coming back to the prestigious National Film Awards, R. Madhavan's Rocketry: The Nambi Effect has been declared the Best Feature Film. Alia Bhatt for Gangubai and Kriti Sanon for Mimi are joint winners in the Best Actress category, while Allu Arjun was awarded the Best Actor for Pushpa: The Rise. Pankaj Tripathi, on the other hand, has won the Best Supporting Actor Award for Mimi.