Manoj Bajpayee to WION on National Award for Gulmohar: This is my fourth but feels like my first

70th National Film Awards: The winners of the 70th National Film Awards were announced as Malayalam film Aattam became the Best Feature Film and Rishab Shetty picked the Best Actor award for Kantara. Best Actress was shared between Nithya Menen for Thiruchitrambalam and Manasi Parekh for The Kutch Express. Sooraj Barjatya won Best Director for his film Uunchai. 

In the Best Hindi film category, the sweet film Gulmohar picked up the honour and its actor Manoj Bajpayee got a well-deserved special mention. 

Manoj Bajpayee to WION on National Film Awards win

Actor Manoj Bajpayee earned a special mention from the jury for his performance in Gulmohar which also fetched the Best Hindi Film award. The Gulmohar actor shared the honour with Sanjoy Salil Chowdhury for Kalikhan. 

Elated on his win, Manoj Bajpayee spoke exclusively to WION and said, “I am extremely extremely happy for Gulmohar, a film which holds a very special place in my heart! This is my fourth but feels like the first one.”

Gulmohar was released in 2023. It follows the final four days of the Batra family living in their 31-year-old family home as they move to a new city. The film features Sharmila Tagore, Amol Palekar, Manoj Bajpayee, and Talat Aziz in pivotal roles. The film is currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. 

Not the first win for Manoj Bajpayee at National Film Awards

Manoj Bajpayee is a veteran at the National Film Awards with his fourth mention at the coveted Indian film awards. The actor first won Best Supporting Actor for Satya in 1999, the Special Jury Award for Pinjar in 2004 and the Best Actor award for Bhonsle in 2021. 

As for other films at the National Film Awards 2024, Ponniyin Selvan I, KGF 2, Brahmastra and Aparajito were among the other films which won awards at the ceremony.

The awards were announced by the chairperson of the Feature Film Jury, Rahul Rawail; Nila Madhab Panda, chairperson of the Non-Feature Film Jury; and Gangadhar Mudalair, chairperson of the Best Writing on Cinema Jury.

Watch Anoushka Shankar interview here:

Here is the full list of winners of 70th National Film Awards:

Best Feature Film – Aattam
Best Actor – Rishab Shetty, Kantara
Best Actress – Nithya Menen, Thiruchitrambalam and Manasi Parekh, Kutch Express
Best Director – Sooraj Barjatya, Uunchai
Best Supporting Actress – Neena Gupta, Uunchai
Best Supporting Actor – Pawan Malhotra, Fouja
Best Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment – Kantara
Best Debut – Fouja, Pramod Kumar
Best Telugu Film – Kartikeya 2
Best Tamil Film – Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1
Best Punjabi Film – Baaghi Di Dhee
Best Odia Film – Daman
Best Malayalam Film – Saudi Velakka CC.225/2009
Best Marathi Film – Vaalvi
Best Kannada Film – KGF: Chapter 2
Best Hindi Film – Gulmohar
Special Mentions – Manoj Bajpayee in Gulmohar, and Sanjoy Salil Chowdhury for Kalikhan
Best Action Direction – KGF: Chapter 2
Best Choreography – Tiruchitrabalam
Best Lyrics – Fouja
Best Music Director – Pritam (Songs), AR Rahman (Background Score)
Best Makeup – Aparajito
Best Costumes – Kutchh Express
Best Production Design – Aparajito
Best Editing – Aattam
Best Sound Design – Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1
Best Screenplay – Aattam
Best Dialogues – Gulmohar
Best Cinematography – Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1
Best Female Playback – Saudi Velakka CC.225/2009
Best Male Playback – Arijit Singh, Brahmastra