The winners of the 70th National Film Awards have been announced, and this year, Rahul V. Chittella's 2023 movie Gulmohar starring Manoj Bajpayee and Sharmila Tagore has been named as the Best Hindi Film.

A few hours after the movie's big win, veteran actress Sharmila Tagore, who played Kusum Batra in the film, interacted with WION's Pragati Awasthi. Expressing her happiness and gratitude, the veteran actress recalled her shooting days and praised Bajpayee's exceptional performance as she revealed that&nbsp;she was initially&nbsp;worried about playing a gay character on screen.&nbsp;

Sharing that she was just sitting down to&nbsp;lunch when&nbsp;she got to know about the film's win, Tagore said, ''I was absolutely over the moon, because we enjoyed working in this film so much. We got along with each other so much. We were shooting during Covid in Delhi. So, it became very personal, because nobody was coming from home. Everybody was in the hotel. We had so much fun during the shoot. So, it became like a family. It is like a collective experience, a collective feeling of joy that we are experiencing.''

Further praising director Rahul V Chittella, the veteran actor said that he was not the only reason why she said yes to the movie.&nbsp;

''He [Rahul] was so sensitive when he narrated the script. I liked him and wanted to work with him. I could see his passion and he has been so particular about everything, from editing to the music. So, in each aspect of filmmaking, he was personally involved. And his hard work has&nbsp;paid off. It was a pleasure to act in this film.''

Gulmohar marked Tagore's return to acting after 13 years, and in the movie, she played a gay character. When asked if she had any apprehension before saying yes to the role, the actress admitted she was worried whether the audience would accept her character or not.&nbsp;

''I didn't hesitate, but yes, I just thought that I&nbsp;had been working for so many years. There is a specific kind of image that I have. I was worried if the audience would accept me. When I say that, will they put off or will reject this? But, they didn't. Everybody in the younger generation is like that. And in fact, also the older generation, but I think OTT platforms have kind of regularized or made it seem more natural. It's more accepted,&nbsp;time has moved on. It's no longer the time when I was working when&nbsp;I was young. People have moved on; the audience is different. So, they have accepted it. But,&nbsp;yes, I wondered if it was a hesitation. But the entire script and Rahul's commitment worked. So I said, no, I'm not going to say no to this film, and will take my chances. And thank God, it paid off!''

Three-time National Award winner Manoj Bajpayee earned a special mention from the jury for his performance as Arun Batra in the movie. Appreciating Bajpayee's performance, the actress said, ''He was very good, he kept us all together in the film.&nbsp;I think everyone's character was very well defined and very well-articulated. The dialogues were so good, the cinematography was good, and the locations was so correct. And Manoj, of course, he's is a wonderful actor, he has given wonderful performances even before. But, in this film he was exceptional.''

The winners of the 70th National Film Awards have been announced, and this year, Rahul V. Chittella's 2023 movie Gulmohar starring Manoj Bajpayee and Sharmila Tagore has been named as the Best Hindi Film.

The winners of the 70th National Film Awards have been announced, and this year, Rahul V. Chittella's 2023 movie Gulmohar starring Manoj Bajpayee and Sharmila Tagore has been named as the Best Hindi Film. A few hours after the movie's big win, veteran actress Sharmila Tagore, who played Kusum Batra in the film, interacted with WION's Pragati Awasthi. Expressing her happiness and gratitude, the veteran actress recalled her shooting days and praised Bajpayee's exceptional performance as she revealed that she was initially worried about playing a gay character on screen. Sharing that she was just sitting down to lunch when she got to know about the film's win, Tagore said, ''I was absolutely over the moon, because we enjoyed working in this film so much. We got along with each other so much. We were shooting during Covid in Delhi. So, it became very personal, because nobody was coming from home. Everybody was in the hotel. We had so much fun during the shoot. So, it became like a family. It is like a collective experience, a collective feeling of joy that we are experiencing.'' Further praising director Rahul V Chittella, the veteran actor said that he was not the only reason why she said yes to the movie. ''He [Rahul] was so sensitive when he narrated the script. I liked him and wanted to work with him. I could see his passion and he has been so particular about everything, from editing to the music. So, in each aspect of filmmaking, he was personally involved. And his hard work has paid off. It was a pleasure to act in this film.'' Gulmohar marked Tagore's return to acting after 13 years, and in the movie, she played a gay character. When asked if she had any apprehension before saying yes to the role, the actress admitted she was worried whether the audience would accept her character or not. ''I didn't hesitate, but yes, I just thought that I had been working for so many years. There is a specific kind of image that I have. I was worried if the audience would accept me. When I say that, will they put off or will reject this? But, they didn't. Everybody in the younger generation is like that. And in fact, also the older generation, but I think OTT platforms have kind of regularized or made it seem more natural. It's more accepted, time has moved on. It's no longer the time when I was working when I was young. People have moved on; the audience is different. So, they have accepted it. But, yes, I wondered if it was a hesitation. But the entire script and Rahul's commitment worked. So I said, no, I'm not going to say no to this film, and will take my chances. And thank God, it paid off!'' Three-time National Award winner Manoj Bajpayee earned a special mention from the jury for his performance as Arun Batra in the movie. Appreciating Bajpayee's performance, the actress said, ''He was very good, he kept us all together in the film. I think everyone's character was very well defined and very well-articulated. The dialogues were so good, the cinematography was good, and the locations was so correct. And Manoj, of course, he's is a wonderful actor, he has given wonderful performances even before. But, in this film he was exceptional.''

Exclusive: Sharmila Tagore on Gulmohar's National Award win, calls Manoj Bajpayee's performance 'exceptional'

South&nbsp;cinema shined the brightest at the 70th National Film Awards. The winners of the coveted awards were announced on Friday in New Delhi and Rishabh Shetty won the Best Actor award for Kantara while the hugely popular KGF2 won the Best Kannada Feature Film award. Actress Nithya Menen won Best Actress award for Thiruchitrambalam which she shared with Manasi Parekh for Kutch Express.&nbsp;

The Malayalam-language drama&nbsp;Aattam&nbsp;won the Best Feature Film award

Actor Manoj Bajpayee earned a special mention from the jury for his performance in Gulmohar which also fetched the Best Hindi Film award.&nbsp;Neena Gupta won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Uunchai which also fetched its director Sooraj Barjatya the Best Director award.&nbsp;

Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt starter Brahmastra won in music category with Arijit Singh winning Best Male Playback Singer and Pritam winning Best Music award.&nbsp;The film also won for its animation and VFX.&nbsp; 
 
The announcement was made in New Delhi by the I&amp; B ministry. The winners will be felicitated later in October this year by the President of India.&nbsp;

<h2>Here is the full list of winners of 70th National Film Awards</h2>

Best Feature Film – Aattam 
Best Actor – Rishab Shetty, Kantara 
Best Actress – Nithya Menen,&nbsp;Thiruchitrambalam and Manasi Parekh, Kutch Express 
Best Director – Sooraj Barjatya, Uunchai 
Best Supporting Actress – Neena Gupta, Uunchai 
Best Supporting Actor – Pawan Malhotra, Fouja 
Best Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment – Kantara 
Best Debut – Fouja, Pramod Kumar 
Best Telugu Film – Kartikeya 2 
Best Tamil Film – Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1 
Best Punjabi Film – Baaghi Di Dhee 
Best Odia Film – Daman 
Best Malayalam Film – Saudi Velakka CC.225/2009 
Best Marathi Film – Vaalvi 
Best Kannada Film – KGF: Chapter 2 
Best Hindi Film – Gulmohar 
Special Mentions – Manoj Bajpayee in Gulmohar, and Sanjoy Salil Chowdhury for Kalikhan 
Best Action Direction – KGF: Chapter 2 
Best Choreography – Tiruchitrabalam 
Best Lyrics – Fouja 
Best Music Director – Pritam (Songs), AR Rahman (Background Score) 
Best Makeup – Aparajito 
Best Costumes – Kutchh Express 
Best Production Design – Aparajito 
Best Editing – Aattam 
Best Sound Design – Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1 
Best Screenplay – Aattam 
Best Dialogues – Gulmohar 
Best Cinematography – Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1 
Best Female Playback – Soudi Velakka CC.225/2009 
Best Male Playback – Arijit Singh, Brahmastra

South cinema shined the brightest at the 70th National Film Awards. The winners of the coveted awards were announced on Friday in New Delhi and Rishabh Shetty won the Best Actor award for Kantara while the hugely popular KGF2 won the Best Kannada Feature Film award.

South cinema shined the brightest at the 70th National Film Awards. The winners of the coveted awards were announced on Friday in New Delhi and Rishabh Shetty won the Best Actor award for Kantara while the hugely popular KGF2 won the Best Kannada Feature Film award. Actress Nithya Menen won Best Actress award for Thiruchitrambalam which she shared with Manasi Parekh for Kutch Express. The Malayalam-language drama Aattam won the Best Feature Film award Actor Manoj Bajpayee earned a special mention from the jury for his performance in Gulmohar which also fetched the Best Hindi Film award. Neena Gupta won Best Supporting Actress for her role in Uunchai which also fetched its director Sooraj Barjatya the Best Director award. Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt starter Brahmastra won in music category with Arijit Singh winning Best Male Playback Singer and Pritam winning Best Music award. The film also won for its animation and VFX. The announcement was made in New Delhi by the I& B ministry. The winners will be felicitated later in October this year by the President of India. Here is the full list of winners of 70th National Film Awards Best Feature Film – Aattam Best Actor – Rishab Shetty, Kantara Best Actress – Nithya Menen, Thiruchitrambalam and Manasi Parekh, Kutch Express Best Director – Sooraj Barjatya, Uunchai Best Supporting Actress – Neena Gupta, Uunchai Best Supporting Actor – Pawan Malhotra, Fouja Best Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment – Kantara Best Debut – Fouja, Pramod Kumar Best Telugu Film – Kartikeya 2 Best Tamil Film – Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1 Best Punjabi Film – Baaghi Di Dhee Best Odia Film – Daman Best Malayalam Film – Saudi Velakka CC.225/2009 Best Marathi Film – Vaalvi Best Kannada Film – KGF: Chapter 2 Best Hindi Film – Gulmohar Special Mentions – Manoj Bajpayee in Gulmohar, and Sanjoy Salil Chowdhury for Kalikhan Best Action Direction – KGF: Chapter 2 Best Choreography – Tiruchitrabalam Best Lyrics – Fouja Best Music Director – Pritam (Songs), AR Rahman (Background Score) Best Makeup – Aparajito Best Costumes – Kutchh Express Best Production Design – Aparajito Best Editing – Aattam Best Sound Design – Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1 Best Screenplay – Aattam Best Dialogues – Gulmohar Best Cinematography – Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1 Best Female Playback – Soudi Velakka CC.225/2009 Best Male Playback – Arijit Singh, Brahmastra

National Film Awards 2024: Rishab Shetty wins Best Actor for Kantara, Manoj Bajpayee gets Special Mention

gulmohar

Gulmohar, News on Gulmohar, stories on Gulmohar, articles on Gulmohar, Gulmohar stories at Wion, Gulmohar news, Gulmohar latest news