Awards
Awards were divided into feature films and non-feature films.
Awards were also renamed with 23rd National Film Awards. President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film renamed to National Film Award for Best Feature Film, whereas President's Gold Medal for the Best Documentary Film is to National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film. For children's films, Prime Minister's Gold Medal is renamed as National Film Award for Best Children's Film. At the regional level, President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film is renamed as National Film Award for Best Feature Film in a particular language.
Lifetime Achievement Award
| Name of Award | Image | Awardee(s) | Awarded As | Cash prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award |  | Dhirendra Nath Ganguly | Actor and Director | Swarna Kamal, ₹20,000 and a Shawl |
Feature films
Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 23rd National Film Awards, a Kannada film, Chomana Dudi won the President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film also winning the maximum number of awards (three) with the Tamil film Apoorva Raagangal . Following were the awards given in each category: [1]
All India Award
Following were the awards given: [1]
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Feature Film | Chomana Dudi | Kannada | Producer: Ashok Kumar | Swarna Kamal, ₹40,000 and a Certificate |
| Director: B. V. Karanth | Rajat Kamal, ₹15,000 and a Certificate | |||
| Second Best Feature Film | Mausam | Hindi | Producer: P. Mallikharjuna Rao | Rajat Kamal, ₹15,000 and a Certificate |
| Director: Gulzar | Rajat Kamal, ₹10,000 and a Certificate | |||
| Best Feature Film with Mass Appeal, Wholesome Entertainment and Aesthetic Value | Tapasya | Hindi | Producer: Rajshri Productions | Swarna Kamal and a Certificate |
| Director: Anil Ganguly | Rajat Kamal and a Certificate | |||
| Best Direction | Jana Aranya | Bengali | Satyajit Ray | Rajat Kamal, ₹20,000 and a Certificate |
| Best Cinematography (Black and White) | Apoorva Raagangal | Tamil | B. S. Loknath | Rajat Kamal, ₹5,000 and a Certificate |
| Best Cinematography (Color) | Muthyala Muggu | Telugu | Ishan Arya | Rajat Kamal, ₹5,000 and a Certificate |
| Best Actor | Chomana Dudi | Kannada | M. V. Vasudeva Rao | Rajat Kamal, ₹10,000 and a Certificate |
| Best Actress | Mausam | Hindi | Sharmila Tagore | Rajat Kamal, ₹10,000 and a Certificate |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Hamsageethe | Kannada | M. Balamuralikrishna | Rajat Kamal and a Certificate |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Apoorva Raagangal | Tamil | Vani Jairam | Rajat Kamal and a Certificate |
| Best Music Direction | Chameli Memsaab | Assamese | Bhupen Hazarika | Rajat Kamal, ₹10,000 and a Certificate |
| Best Story | Chomana Dudi | Kannada | K. Shivaram Karanth | Rajat Kamal, ₹10,000 and a Certificate |
Regional Award
The awards were given to the best films made in the regional languages of India. For feature films in English, Gujarati, Kashmiri, Meitei, Oriya and Punjabi, President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film was not given.
All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize. The producer and director of the film were awarded with ₹10,000 and ₹5,000, respectively. [1]
| Award | Film | Awardee(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Producer | Director | ||
| Best Feature Film in Assamese | Chameli Memsaab | Seuj Bolechari Santha | Abdul Majid |
| Best Feature Film in Bengali | Palanka | Filmarts, Calcutta | Rajen Tarafdar |
| Best Feature Film in Hindi | Nishant | Freni M. Variava | Shyam Benegal |
| Mohan J. Bijlani | |||
| Best Feature Film in Kannada | Hamsageethe | M/s. Anantha Lakshmi Films | G. V. Iyer |
| Best Feature Film in Malayalam | Swapnadanam | T. Mohamed Babu | K. G. George |
| Best Feature Film in Marathi | Samna | Ramdas Phutane | Jabbar Patel |
| Best Feature Film in Tamil | Apoorva Raagangal | D. Jayalakshmi | K. Balachander |
| G. Vijayalakshmi | |||
| Best Feature Film in Telugu | Muthyala Muggu | M. V. L. Narasimha Rao | Bapu |
Non-Feature films
For 23rd National Film Awards, two new awards were introduced for the short films category for Best News Review and Best Newsreel Cameraman. These newly introduced awards includes Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus) and a Certificate. [1] Over the years, these two awards are discontinued.
Short films
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Information Film (Documentary) | Winged Wonderland | English | Producer: Shanti Varma | Rajat Kamal, ₹5,000 and a Certificate |
| Director: Shanti Varma | ||||
| Best Educational / Instructional Film | Induced Breeding | English | Producer: K. K. Kapil | Rajat Kamal, ₹5,000 and a Certificate |
| Director: Suraj Joshi | Rajat Kamal, ₹4,000 and a Certificate | |||
| Best Film on Social Documentation | Baster Rhythm Of Progress | English | Producer: Chandrashekhar Nair | Rajat Kamal, ₹5,000 and a Certificate |
| Director: Chandrashekhar Nair | ||||
| Best Commercial Promotional Film (Advertisement) | Zenith of India | English | Producer: Film Media, Bombay | Rajat Kamal and a Certificate |
| Director: Jyoti G. Thakur | ||||
| Best Promotional Film (Non-Commercial) | Poems in Pattern | English | Producer: Ranabir Ray | Rajat Kamal and a Certificate |
| Director: Ranabir Ray | ||||
| Best Experimental Film | Awashesh | Hindi | Producer: FTII | Rajat Kamal, ₹5,000 and a Certificate |
| Director: Girish Kasaravalli | Rajat Kamal, ₹4,000 and a Certificate | |||
| Best Animation Film | Business is People | English | Producer: Akbar Films, Bombay | Rajat Kamal, ₹5,000 and a Certificate |
| Director: Kantilal Rathod | Rajat Kamal, ₹4,000 and a Certificate | |||
| Best News Review | Indian News Review No. 1399 | – | N. V. K. Murthy | Rajat Kamal and a Certificate |
| Best Newsreel Cameraman | Flood Havocs (Indian News Review No. 1399) | – | A. S. Agnihotri | Rajat Kamal and a Certificate |
| Abinashi Ram | ||||
| A. R. Saroef |
Awards not given
Following were the awards not given as no film was found to be suitable for the award: [1]
- Best Film on Family Welfare
- Best Children's Film
- Best Lyrics
- Best Feature Film on National Integration
- Best Child Artist
- Best Screenplay
- President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in English
- President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Manipuri
- President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Oriya
- President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Punjabi