The 69th National Film Awards will be announced on Thursday during a press conference by the Jury at the National Media Center, New Delhi. One of the most prominent film award ceremonies in India honours the best films. The highly-anticipated event will mark a major face-off between regional cinema and Bollywood. Many names are going around and the official announcement is awaited. This year Alia Bhatt and Kangana Ranaut’s names are doing the rounds on social media as possible candidates for Best Actress for 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' and 'Thalaivi' respectively. Several Malayalam films are strong contenders for the coveted awards, such as 'Nayattu', 'Minnal Murali', and 'Meppadiyan'.
R Madhavan's 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect' are also said to be among the contenders. However, no official announcement has been made and it will be revealed on Thursday evening. According to reports, 'Nayattu' might be a huge win for actor Joju George as he is a strong contender for the Best Actor award. Another South film for the awards is 'Minnal Murali', directed by Basil Joseph.
Last year the Best Actor Award for 2020 was shared between Suriya for 'Soorarai Pottru' and Ajay Devgn for the Hindi movie 'Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior'. Actress Aparna Balamurali bagged the Best Actress award. Manoj Muntashir has won the award for Best Lyrics for the Hindi movie 'Saina'.
Madhya Pradesh won the 'Most Film Friendly State' award while Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh got a Special Mention. 'The Longest Kiss' by Kishwar Desai won Best Book on Cinema for the year while the Malayalam book 'MT Anunahvangalude Pusthakam' and Odia book 'Kali Paine Kalira Cinema' won a special mention.
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(With Inputs from ANI)
