The 55th National Film Awards, presented by

Directorate of Film Festivals The Directorate of Film Festivals in India was an organisation that initiated and presented the International Film Festival of India, the National Film Awards and the Indian Panorama. Although the Directorate helped appoint members of the jury ...

, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of

Indian Cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, ...

released in the year 2007. Three different committees were instituted in order to judge the various entries for feature film, non-feature film and best writing on cinema sections; headed by National award winner director, Sai Paranjpye, for feature films and Ashoke Viswanathan along with Namita Gokhale for non-feature films and best writing on cinema sections, respectively. Each chairperson announced the award on 7 September 2009 for their respective sections and award ceremony took place at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi with

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

Pratibha Patil Prathibha DeviSingh Patil (born 19 December 1934) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of India spanning from 2007 to 2012. She is the first woman to become the president of India. A member of the Indian National ...

giving away the awards on 21 October 2009.

Awards

Awards were divided into feature films, non-feature films and books written on Indian cinema.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Lifetime achievement award is given to the prominent personality from the Indian film industry for the significant contributions given.

Juries

A committee consisting four eminent personalities from Indian film industry was appointed to evaluate the lifetime achievement award, Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Following were the jury members: * Jury Members **

Akkineni Nageswara Rao Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1923 – 22 January 2014), widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his works majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became on ...

Yash Chopra Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 21 October 2012) was an Indian film director and film producer who worked in Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chopra was the recipient of ...

Vijaya Mulay

Amjad Ali Khan Ustad Amjad Ali Khan (born 9 October 1945) is an Indian classical ''sarod'' player, best known for his clear and fast ekhara taans. Khan was born into a classical musical family and has performed internationally since the 1960s. He was awar ...

Feature Films

Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 55th National Film Awards, a

Tamil film Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

, ''

Kanchivaram ''Kanchivaram'' is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language period drama film written and directed by Priyadarshan. The film stars Prakash Raj and Shriya Reddy and has the musical score by M. G. Sreekumar, cinematography by Tirru, editing by Arun Kumar ...

'' won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one of se ...

; whereas a Hindi film, ''

Gandhi, My Father ''Gandhi, My Father'' is a 2007 Indian biographical drama film by Feroz Abbas Khan. It was produced by Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor, and released on 3 August 2007. The film stars Darshan Jariwala, Akshaye Khanna, and Bhumika Chawla. The ...

'' won the maximum number of awards (3). Following were the awards given in each category:

Juries

A committee headed by Sai Paranjpye was appointed to evaluate the feature films awards. Following were the jury members: * Jury Members ** Sai Paranjpye (

Chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

) Nemai Ghosh Manju BorahAhsan MuzidArup Manna

Mohan Sharma Mohan Sharma is an Indian film and television actor, film producer, director and screenwriter, who works in South Indian films. He has produced more than 15 films in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada. He became noted through his role in '' C ...

K. S. Sivaraman ** Rajendra Narayan TalakKesari HarvooErvelle Menezes

Sibi Malayil Sibi (Sindhi: سيوي ur, ) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city is the headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name. Etymology The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hindu lad ...

Sunny JosephSatya Paul

Pratibha Prahlad Prathibha Prahlad (b 1962) is a Bharata Natyam dancer, educator, choreographer, arts administrator, and author. She was the founder director of the Delhi International Arts Festival. Personal life Prathiba Prahlad was born on January 29, 1969, ...

All India Award

Following were the awards given:

= Golden Lotus Award

= Official Name: Swarna Kamal All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.

= Silver Lotus Award

= Official Name: Rajat Kamal All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.

Regional Awards

The award is given to best film in the regional languages in India. Best Feature Film in Each of the Language Other Than Those Specified In the Schedule VIII of the Constitution

Non-Feature Films

Films made in any Indian language shot on 16 mm, 35 mm or in a wider gauge or digital format and released on either film format or video/digital but certified by the Central Board of Film Certification as a documentary/newsreel/fiction are eligible for non-feature film section.

Juries

A committee headed by Ashoke Viswanathan was appointed to evaluate the non-feature films awards. Following were the jury members: * Jury Members ** Ashoke Viswanathan (

)Prabhu RadhakrishnanRajendra JanglayJasmine K. RoyAshok OgraRamesh Asher

Golden Lotus Award

Official Name: Swarna Kamal All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.

Silver Lotus Award

Official Name: Rajat Kamal All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)' and cash prize.

Best Writing on Cinema

The awards aim at encouraging study and appreciation of cinema as an art form and dissemination of information and critical appreciation of this art-form through publication of books, articles, reviews etc.

Juries

A committee headed by Namita Gokhale was appointed to evaluate the writing on Indian cinema. Following were the jury members: * Jury Members ** Namita Gokhale (

) Jerry PintoG. P. Ramachandran

Golden Lotus Award

Official Name: Swarna Kamal All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)' and cash prize.

Awards not given

Following were the awards not given as no film was found to be suitable for the award: * Best Scientific Film * Best Arts / Cultural Film * Best Environment Film Including Agriculture * Best Promotional Film * Best Agricultural Film * Best Non-Feature Animation Film * Best Feature Film in Assamese * Best Feature Film in Manipuri * Best Feature Film in Oriya * Best Feature Film in Punjabi * Best Feature Film in Telugu * Best Exploration / Adventure Film

References

External links

National Film Awards Archives

Official Page for Directorate of Film Festivals, India
{{National Film Awards National Film Awards (India) ceremonies 2009 Indian film awards