National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English
| National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English | |
|---|---|
| National award for contributions to Indian Cinema | |
| Sponsored by | Directorate of Film Festivals |
| Formerly called | President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in English (1964) |
| Reward(s) |
|
| First awarded | 1964 |
| Last awarded | 2013 |
| Highlights | |
| Total awarded | 20 |
| First winner | The Avalanche |
| Last winner | The Coffin Maker |
The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English is one of the National Film Awards of India presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus).
The National Film Awards, established in 1954, are the most prominent film awards in India that merit the best of the Indian cinema. The ceremony also presents awards for films in various regional languages.
Awards for films in seven regional language (Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu) started from 2nd National Film Awards which were presented on 21 December 1955. Three awards of "President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film", "Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Feature Film" and "Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film" were instituted. The later two certificate awards were discontinued from 15th National Film Awards (1967).
Produced and directed by Serbjeet Singh, the 1964 film The Avalanche was honoured with the first president's silver medal for Best Feature Film in English. After 1964, awards were discontinued for certain period and resumed for feature films produced in 1981 at 29th National Film Awards.
Winners
Award includes 'Rajat Kamal' (Silver Lotus) and cash prize. Following are the award winners over the years:
| List of award films, showing the year (award ceremony), producer(s), director(s) and citation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film(s) | Producer(s) | Director(s) | Citation | Refs. |
|
1964 (12th) |
The Avalanche | Serbjeet Singh | Serbjeet Singh | – | |
|
1981 (29th) |
36 Chowringhee Lane | Shashi Kapoor | Aparna Sen |
For eloquently portraying the tragedy of a lonely woman belonging to the Anglo-Indian community in contemporary India.
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1982 (30th) |
No Award | ||||
|
1983 (31st) |
No Award | ||||
|
1984 (32nd) |
No Award | ||||
|
1985 (33rd) |
No Award | ||||
|
1986 (34th) |
Watchman | T. S. Narasimhan | Shankar Nag |
For the charming rendering of the story an old watchman saving a young girl from suicide, himself having lost all his near and dear ones.
|
|
|
1987 (35th) |
No Award | ||||
|
1988 (36th) |
In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones | Pradip Krishen | Pradip Krishen |
For portrayal of the agonies and aspiration of the present day student community in excellent cinematic language.
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|
1989 (37th) |
No Award | ||||
|
1990 (38th) |
No Award | ||||
|
1991 (39th) |
No Award | ||||
|
1992 (40th) |
Electric Moon | Bobby Bedi | Pradip Krishen |
For its tongue-in-cheek parody of royalty gone to seed. A humorous depiction of a decaying way of life, not without its tragic undertones.
|
|
|
1993 (41st) |
No Award | ||||
|
1994 (42nd) |
English, August | Anuradha Parikh | Dev Benegal |
For adapting a complex and highly applauded novel with a cinematic skill and mastery matching the original work, a translation unusual in contemporary Indian cinema.
|
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|
1995 (43rd) |
The Making of the Mahatma | NFDC | Shyam Benegal |
For tracing the significant early years of strife and struggle of Gandhi in South Africa in a realistic and lyrical form.
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|
1996 (44th) |
No Award | ||||
|
1997 (45th) |
No Award | ||||
|
1998 (46th) |
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar | • Government of India • Government of Maharashtra • NFDC |
Jabbar Patel |
For an authentic and well researched biographical film which probes the political and social aspects of the life of one of the greatest leaders of India.
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|
|
1999 (47th) |
No Award | ||||
|
2000 (48th) |
Pandavas: The Five Warriors | Pentamedia Graphics Ltd | Pentamedia Graphics Ltd |
For bringing the epic of Mahabharata to life on screen with realistic depth and detail.
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2001 (49th) |
Mitr, My Friend | Suresh Menon | Revathi |
For depicting the agony of individuals torn between social values practised in different societies. It explores the nuances of emotions within a marriage and family.
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|
2002 (50th) |
Stumble | 2 Streams Media | Prakash Belawadi |
For its intelligent handling of corruption prevailing in the world of information technology.
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|
2003 (51st) |
Dance Like a Man | NFDC | Pamela Rooks |
For a human drama that engages issues of creativity and gender dynamics.
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2004 (52nd) |
Amu | Shonali Bose | Shonali Bose |
For its innovative style of handling a girl’s search for her identity and her encounter with a scarred society.
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2005 (53rd) |
15 Park Avenue | Bipin Kumar Vohra | Aparna Sen |
For its effective and intense portrayal of a schizophrenic girl who seeks a dream world that may or may not even exist.
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2006 (54th) |
Quest | Amol Palekar | Amol Palekar |
For a bold film addressing issues of sexuality.
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2007 (55th) |
The Last Lear | Arindam Chaudhuri | Rituparno Ghosh |
For a brilliant and visually stunning work of cinema on the life of a reclusive Shakespearian actor, well past his prime. His whimsical and passionate persona makes him a memorable and loveable character.
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2008 (56th) |
Land Gold Women | Vivek Agrawal | Avantika Hari |
For its intense depiction of the issue of honour killing.
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2009 (57th) |
No Award | ||||
|
2010 (58th) |
Memories in March | Shrikant Mohta | Sanjoy Nag |
For the effective exploration of a bereaved mother’s coming to terms with the fact of her son’s sexual identity.
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2011 (59th) |
No Award | ||||
|
2012 (60th) |
Lessons in Forgetting | Prince Thampi | Unni Vijayan |
The investigative free spirit of a young girl which proves to be almost fatal, finds its cinematic experience in this sleek and well crafted film.
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2013 (61st) |
The Coffin Maker | Shree Narayan Studio | Veena Bakshi |
Tale of a coffin maker and his wife living in a small Goan village. The film gets very interesting, intriguing and philosophical as death as a character enters their lives.
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2014 (62nd) |
No Award | ||||
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2015 (63rd) |
No Award | ||||
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2016 (64th) |
No Award | ||||
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2017 (65th) |
No Award | ||||