National Film Award for Best Biographical Film

National Film Award for Best Biographical Film
National award for contributions to short film
Sponsored by	Directorate of Film Festivals
Reward(s)	Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus) ₹50,000 (US$600)
First awarded	1984
Last awarded	2017
Most recent winner	•Naachi se Baanchi  •Sword of Liberty
Highlights
Total awarded	38
First winner	Padmashri Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair

The National Film Award for Best Biographical Film was one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It was one of several awards presented for non-feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus).

The award was instituted in 1984, at 32nd National Film Awards and awarded annually for the short films produced in the year across the country, in all Indian languages. The award is clubbed with National Film Award for Best Historical Reconstruction/Compilation Film, with the new category named as Best Biographical / Historical Reconstruction / Compilation Film. ^[1]

Winners

Award includes 'Rajat Kamal' (Silver Lotus) and cash prize. Following are the award winners over the years:

Awards legends
	Indicates a joint award for the year
†	Awarded as Best Biographical Film / Best Historical Reconstruction Film

List of films, showing the year, language(s), producer(s), director(s) and citation
Year	Film(s)	Language(s)	Producer(s)	Director(s)	Citation	Refs.
1984 (32nd)	Padmashri Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair	Malayalam	James Paul	Matthew Paul	–	[2]
1985 (33rd)	Satyajit Ray	English	Films Division	Shyam Benegal	For the deep analysis of the life and work of Satyajit Ray, in a face-to-face interaction.	[3]
	The Seer Who Walks Alone	English	G. Aravindan	G. Aravindan	For the sensitive portrayal of the life, personality and philosophy of J. Krishnamurthi, the noted philosopher.
1986 (34th)	Sister Alphonsa of Bharananganam	English	•Dejo Kappen  •George Sebastian	Rajiv Vijay Raghavan	For its creative use of cinematography in portraying with great sympathy and understanding the life of Sister Alphonsa.	[4]
	Kamala Nehru	English	Uma Shankar	Ashish Mukherjee	For the innovative use of graphics in the effective depiction of the subject.
1987 (35th)	Basheer: The Man	English	Kannakulam Abdulla	M. R. Rahman	For its presentation of a relatively unknown literary personality through a fresh, spontaneous, uninhibited portrayal that brings out the complexity of an unconventional individual, rich in wit and worldly wisdom.	[5]
1988 (36th)	No Award					[6]
1989 (37th)	C. V. Raman: The Scientist and His Legacy	English	N. K. Saigal	Nandan Kudhyadi	For being an innovative and sensitive biography of a great scientist, C. V. Raman, portraying his achievements, trials and tribulations.	[7]
1990 (38th)	Baba	English	Mediart Film Pvt. Ltd	Rajiv Mehrotra	For the relaxed and sensitive portrayal of an extraordinary man of our times, bubbling with humanity, portraying the social causes for which Baba Amte has dedicated life, with a sense of deep involvement, never descending to eulogising.	[8]
1991 (39th)	Bhavantarana	Oriya	Bombay Cinematograph	Kumar Shahani	For presenting the life and art of Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra in distinct stylised manner.	[9]
	Kabitar Ananta Jatrapathe	Bengali	Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Government of West Bengal	Sanat Kumar Dasgupta	For imaginative visualisation of poetry of the late Jibananand Das and relating it to his life and time.
1992 (40th)	Pandit Bhimsen Joshi	Hindi	Gulzar for Films Division	Gulzar	For a moving rendering of the life of great master of ragas.	[10]
1993 (41st)	Colors of Absence	English	• Shanta Gokhale  •Arun Khopkar	Arun Khopkar	For a beautifully crafted and successful presentation of the biography of the painter, Jehangir Sabavala, through his work. The sound design of the film has also been meticulously conceived.	[11]
1994 (42nd)	No Award					[12]
1995 (43rd)	A Living Legend	English	Aurora Film Corporation	Satadru Chaki	For portraying with sincerity the life of an educationist and parliamentarian Prof. Hiren Mukherjee.	[13]
1996 (44th)	Hastir Kanya	Assamese	Digbijay Medhi	Prabin Hazarika	For exploring the world of Goalpariya folk music through the life of singer Pratima Borooah Pandey of Gauripur, Assam.	[14]
1997 (45th)	Mounam Sowmanasyam	Malayalam	T. Ravindranath	Ravindran	For an insightful evocation of the shy and retiring filmmaker Arvindan, and the erudite assessment of his cinematic idiom.	[15]
1998 (46th)	Premji: Ithihasathinte Sparsam	Malayalam	Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi	M. R. Rajan	For an insightful voyage into the meaningful and exemplary lives of Premji and M.R.B., two legendary social reformers.	[16]
	Unarvinte Kalam: M.R.B.
1999 (47th)	Nottam	Malayalam	Bina Narayan	M. R. Rajan	For portraying the renowned Kathakali actor Kizhpadam Kumaran Nair, his valuable contribution to the art form, his devotion, dignity and his insights into nature, art and life.	[17]
	Mallika Sarabhai	English	Films Division	Aruna Raje Patil	For a vibrant presentation of a contemporary woman’s life and art, through the perspective of Mallika Sarabhai.
2000 (48th)	Devanarthakan (The Divine Dancer)	Malayalam	A. V. Ali Koya for Kerala State Chalachitra Academy	Sudish Gopalakrishnan	For the effective portrayal of Kodakkat Kannan Peruvannan, the renowned Theyyam artist, popularly known as Devanarthakan.	[18]
2001 (49th)	Teejan Bai	Hindi	Kuldeep Sinha for Films Division	V. Packirisamy	For the portrayal of the success story of the folk artist.	[19]
2002 (50th)	Meeting Manjit	English	Ina Puri	Buddhadeb Dasgupta	For making incisive use of the visual potential of cinema to give us rare insight into an artist's life, his subconscious and its articulation on canvas. The film brilliantly juxtaposes the journeys of the artist, his friend Ina and the film maker himself.	[20]
2003 (51st)	No Award					[21]
2004 (52nd)	It's Prabhat	Marathi	A. V. Damle	Madhavi Vaidya	For presenting the glorious history of Prabhat Film Company in a very engaging and fascinating manner through excellent compilation of the excerpts of some of the renowned old films of the company.	[22]
2005 (53rd)	Hans Akela: Kumar Gandharva†	Hindi	Films Division	Jabbar Patel	For a film made with a deep sense of understanding of classical Music. This well researched film sensitively evokes the unique personality and contribution of Kumar Gandharva and shows the human face of his outstanding creativity.	[23]
2006 (54th)	Minukku	Malayalam	•Devadasan Keezhpatt  •Bina Narayanan	M. R. Rajan	The film succeeds in imaginatively presenting the life story of "Kottakkal Sivaraman" the legendary Kathakali artist, who specialises in performing female roles. In the process it also highlights some aspects of traditional Kathakali dance.	[24]
	Guru Laimayum Thambalngoubi Devi	Meitei	Aribam Syam Sharma	Aribam Syam Sharma	For the simplicity and grace with which the director has related the story of the great Manipuri dance and theatre artist "Guru Laimayum Thambalngoubi Devi".
2007 (55th)	Antardhwani†	Hindi	Films Division	Jabbar Patel	For creatively bringing out the life and times of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma in his journey to revive the lost music of the Santoor and place it on the world stage. The pace and rhythm of the film is in tune with the melodious music of the Santoor.	[25]
2008 (56th)	The Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi: A Reconstruction	English	Films Division	R. Krishna Mohan	For traversing vast stretches of time and geographical space, this film deftly puts together strands of information, perception, evidence and historical contexts to reconstruct a compelling narrative about the gruesome assassination of a world leader.	[26]
2009 (57th)	Pancham Unmixed	•Bengali  •Hindi  •English	Brahmanand S Siingh	Brahmanand S Siingh	For an engaging compilation of the tumultuous journey of a legendary and iconic music composer of the Indian Film Industry whose music lives on.	[27]
2010 (58th)	Nilamadhaba	English	Films Division	Dilip Patnaik	For an intimate portrayal of the inimitable Sunanda Patnaik, whose life is inseparable from contemporary Indian classical music. The film explores the inner spirit of the artist through evocative moments, pregnant with visual passages.	[28]
2011 (59th)	Vishnupant Damle: Bolpatancha Mook Nayak †	Marathi	Anil Anant Damle	Virendra Valsangkar	For capturing the odyssey of an unsung pioneer of cinema who dared to follow his dreams and enriched the grand canvas experience of the Indian film history.	[29]
2012 (60th)	Celluloid Man †	•English  •Hindi  • Kannada  •Bengali	Shivendra Singh Dungarpur	Shivendra Singh Dungarpur	For capturing, with warmth, the essential impetus of the life of a person whose love for cinema and its diligent archiving has virtually created a cinematic heritage and encouraged generations of filmmakers. And for the film's ability to share the beauty of this impetus with its own creative archiving that makes for a rich multi-layered biography.	[30]
2013 (61st)	The Last Adieu†	English	Films Division	Shabnam Sukhdev	For its insight into the work of an exceptionally passionate documentary filmmaker blended with a frank and moving account of his daughter’s attempt to come to terms with his estrangement from the family.	[31]
2014 (62nd)	Amar Katha: Story of Binodini†	Bengali	Films Division	Tuhinabha Majumder	For its stylistic and poetic portrayal of the 19th century theatre actress Binodini Devi's autobiography.	[32]
2015 (63rd)	Life in Metaphors: A Portrait of Girish Kasaravalli†	•English  •Kannada	Reelism Film	O. P. Shrivastava	Philosophical images of life and beyond.	[33]
2016 (64th)	Zikr Us Parivaksha: Begum Akhtar†	English	Sangeet Natak Akademi	Nirmal Chander	This film uses archival recordings, recreations and interviews to take us on a touching musical journey with a lady who broke open social barriers, becoming one of India's most legendary musical maestros.	[34]
2017 (65th)	Naachi se Baanchi†		Films Division of India	Biju Toppo	Tracing the footprints of the global yet rooted leader Padmashree Ram DayalMunda's inspirational journey through his music, academics and politics.
	Sword of Liberty†		R. C. Suresh	Shiny Benjamin	An elaborate reconstruction of a Diwan’s life in the erstwhile Travancore State.

References

1. Under Secretary to the Government of India (14 December 2023). "Report on Rationalization of Awards Conferred by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting | Ministry of Information and Broadcasting | Government of India". Ministry of Information and Broadcasting . Retrieved 25 August 2024.
2. "32nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
3. "33rd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
4. "34th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
5. "35th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
6. "36th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
7. "37th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
8. "38th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
9. "39th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
10. "40th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
11. "41st National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
12. "42nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
13. "43rd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
14. "44th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
15. "45th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
16. "46th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
17. "47th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
18. "48th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
19. "49th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
20. "50th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
21. "51st National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
22. "52nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
23. "53rd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
24. "54th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
25. "55th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
26. "56th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
27. "57th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
28. "58th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
29. "59th National Film Awards for the Year 2011 Announced". Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
30. "60th National Film Awards Announced" (PDF) (Press release). Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
31. "61st National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
32. "62nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
33. "63rd National Film Awards" (PDF) (Press release). Directorate of Film Festivals. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
34. "64th National Film Awards" (PDF) (Press release). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.

External links

• Official Page for Directorate of Film Festivals, India
• National Film Awards Archives