Actor Suriya won the National Award for Best Actor for 'Soorarai Pottru' on Friday (September 30). The winners of the 68th National Film Awards were present at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi as they were conferred with the prestigious honour by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu. Ajay Devgn won the Best Actor award for Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior and Suriya bagged the top honour for Soorarai Pottru. Upon receiving the honour, Suriya, while speaking to ANI, expressed his elation and said, "Huge honour. Truly grateful to the National Film Award jury and the Government of India. A lot of emotions running in my mind. I have a lot of people to thank...Getting goosebumps. Truly a moment which I'll never forget"
Suriya aka Saravanan Sivakumar took home National Award for his work in the film 'Soorarai Pottru' which is a dramatized portrayal of retired Army Captain GR Gopinath's life as the founder of the low-cost airline Air Deccan. Despite having a straight OTT release, the film was a big success, with fans flooding Twitter with rave reviews. For the unversed, Soorarai Pottru is currently being made in Hindi, with actors Akshay Kumar and Radhika Madan in the lead roles. The release date of the film is still not announced.
Suriya and Guneet Monga both co-produced the film. 'Soorarai Pottru' also received the National Award for Best Feature Film. Directed by Sudha Kongara, the film also features Paresh Rawal and Aparna Balamurali in the lead roles. In fact, Aparna Balamurali also received the National Award for Best Actress in the lead role for her performance in the film.
Apart from all the winners, veteran actress Asha Parekh was bestowed with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for her contribution to Indian cinema. She was also present at the ceremony. Known as the 'Hit Girl' of Indian cinema, Asha Parekh appeared in many commercially successful films throughout her career. She was the highest-paid actor (female) of her time and was one of the most successful actors (female) of the 1960s and 1970s. She is considered one of the most influential actors of all time in Hindi cinema. ALSO READ: National Film Awards: Ajay Devgn, Suriya and other winners conferred with honour, see pics | HIGHLIGHTS
On the related note, Ajay Devgn has now become a three-time National Award winner after winning the Best Actor award for Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. Prior to this, he won National Award for Best Actor for Zakhm in 1998 and The Legend of Bhagat Singh in 2002. Also, director Om Raut was honoured with the Best Popular Film award for Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior.
