49th National Film Awards

49th National Film Awards
Awarded for	Best of Indian cinema in 2001
Awarded by	Directorate of Film Festivals
Presented by	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (President of India)
Announced on	26 July 2002 (2002-07-26)
Presented on	13 February 2003 (2003-02-13)
Official website	dff.nic.in
Highlights
Best Feature Film	Dweepa
Best Non-Feature Film	Sonal
Best Book	• Asoumiya Chalachitrar Chaa-Pohar  • Moulik Marathi Chitrageete
Best Film Critic	Vinod Anupam
Dadasaheb Phalke Award	Yash Chopra
Most awards	Lagaan (8)
← 48th National Film Awards 50th →

The 49th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 2001.^[1] Awards were announced by the committee headed by K. S. Sethumadhavan, K. K. Kapil and Bharat Gopy for the feature films, non-feature films and books written on Indian cinema, respectively, on 26 July 2002; whereas award ceremony took place on 13 February 2003 and awards were given away by then President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

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

Name of Award	Image	Awardee(s)	Awarded As	Awards
Dadasaheb Phalke Award		Yash Chopra[2]	director and producer	Swarna Kamal, ₹ 100,000 and a Shawl

Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 49th National Film Awards, a Kannada film, Dweepa won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film; whereas a Hindi film, Lagaan won the maximum number of awards (8). Following were the awards given in each category:^[1]

A committee headed by K. S. Sethumadhavan was appointed to evaluate the feature films awards. Following were the jury members:^[1][3]

• Jury Members
  • K. S. Sethumadhavan (Chairperson) • S. Ali Raza • Arun Kaul • Aruna Harprasad • Chitra Lakshmanan • Chitra Mudgal • Hemen Das
  • J. L. Ralhan • K. C. N. Chandrasekar • Ibohal Sharma • K. Sampath • K. S. Rama Rao • Meera Dewan • Nabyendu Chatterjee
  • Pallavi Joshi • Pradip Biswas • Prakash Dubey • Rajeevnath • Ramesh Desai • Sanjay Surkar • Sanjeev Hazarika

Following were the awards given:^[1][4]

Official name: Swarna Kamal^[1][4]

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

Name of Award	Name of Film	Language	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best Feature Film	Dweepa	Kannada	Producer: Soundarya director: Girish Kasaravalli	₹ 50,000/- Each
	Citation: For the film combines integrity, creativity and aesthetics in its depiction of both the dilemmas and the spirit of a family who defy logic and weather to hold on to their roots.
Best Debut Film of a Director	Thiladaanam	Telugu	Producer: NFDC Director: K. N. T. Sastry	₹ 25,000/- Each
	Citation: For its juxtaposition of two diverse ideologies existing within the same family – the father's belief in his religion and traditions and his son's revolutionary ideology. The film strikes a very fine balance in inter-generational explorations.
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment	Lagaan	Hindi	Producer: Aamir Khan Director: Ashutosh Gowariker	₹ 40,000/- Each
	Citation: For showing the victory of the human spirit in the face of oppression and for the creative use of a Cricket game as a metaphor for both colonisation and nationalism.
Best Direction	Ooruku Nooruper	Tamil	B. Lenin	₹ 50,000/-
	Citation: For telling the eventful story of a revolutionary who has killed for his cause and awarded the death sentence for his crime. It further looks at the issue of capital punishment.

Official name: Rajat Kamal^[1][4]

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

Name of Award	Name of Film	Language	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best Feature Film on National Integration	Bub	Kashmiri	Producer: NFDC Director: Jyoti Sarup	₹ 30,000/- Each
	Citation: For exploring the problems of a minority in the face of terrorist activities of forces across the border. Against this macro scenario, the film weaves together more intimate micro stories particularly of the bonding between a sensitive bureaucrat and an orphaned boy.
Best Film on Other Social Issues	Chandni Bar	Hindi	Producer: Lata Mohan Iyer Director: Madhur Bhandarkar	₹ 30,000/- Each
	Citation: For its realistic portrayal of the problems of an uprooted woman who is brought to Mumbai and forced to work in a beer bar. The film is a poignant and sensitive depiction of innocent girls trapped in the vicious cycle of survival in the underworld.
Best Actor	Neythukaran	Malayalam	Murali	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For his brilliant portrayal of a character called Mestry, a committed political worker, caught in a web of shifting values-political and social.
Best Actress	Chandni Bar	Hindi	Tabu	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For her down to earth and sensitive depiction of a never say die women, uprooted by the scars of communal violence.
	Mitr, My Friend	English	Shobana
	Citation: For her lifelike performance of a lonely mother / housewife torn between the social values of different societies which reflects the mood of the film.
Best Supporting Actor	Chandni Bar	Hindi	Atul Kulkarni	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For depicting a ruthless character, trapped in a world without social values.
Best Supporting Actress	Chandni Bar	Hindi	Ananya Khare	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For her humane and realistic performance of a complex character.
Best Child Artist	Kutty	Tamil	P. Shwetha	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For her subdued portrayal of Kutty, a young girl made to suffer the agonies of social disparity and human exploitation.
Best Male Playback Singer	• Lagaan ("Mitwa")  • Dil Chahta Hain ("Jaane Kyon")	Hindi	Udit Narayan	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For the song "Mitwa" in Hindi film "Lagaan" and "Jaane Kyon Log Pyaar Karte Hain" in Hindi film "Dil Chahta Hai".
Best Female Playback Singer	Udayageethavin Azhagi ("Pattu Cholli")	Tamil	Sadhana Sargam	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For her lilting and touching rendering of the song.
Best Cinematography	Dweepa	Kannada	Cameraman: Ramachandra Halkere Laboratory Processing: Prasad Film Laboratory	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For his excellent camerawork that captures the agrarian milieu with strong visual metaphors. His work stands out for its deft handling of the situation, social vignettes and characters.
Best Screenplay	Show	Telugu	G. Neelakanta Reddy	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For the film, which seems to probes a real – unreal dramatic situation involving two characters full of emotion and conflicts, with a rare touch of artistic sensitivity.
Best Audiography	Lagaan	Hindi	• H. Sridhar  • Nakul Kamte	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For The sound effects recorded both efficiently and imaginatively heighten the visual impact of the film.
Best Editing	Mitr, My Friend	English	Beena Paul	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For her crisp and taut cutting, makes her bag this award. The excellence is on view in frames offering imaginative touch.
Best Art Direction	Lagaan	Hindi	Nitin Chandrakant Desai	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For aesthetically recreating the pre independence period village with authentic details.
Best Costume Design	Lagaan	Hindi	Bhanu Athaiya	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For taking microscopic care in designing the costumes of pre independence era which gives the film an authentic look.
Best Music Direction	Lagaan	Hindi	Songs and Background Score: A. R. Rahman	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For a music score, that is both regional in character and popular in appeal bringing out the ethos of Saurashtra region.
Best Lyrics	Lagaan ("Radha Kaise Na Jale" and "Ghanan Ghanan")	Hindi	Javed Akhtar	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For using very simple language to bring out the richness of the Kutch locale.
Best Special Effects	Aalavandhan	Tamil	N. Madhusudhanan	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For its creative execution of live and animated special effects which enhance the dramatic impact of the film.
Best Choreography	Lagaan ("Ghanan Ghanan")	Hindi	Raju Khan	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For choreography of that particular song is very lively and skifully composed keeping our tradition and heritage in mind.
Special Jury Award	Kutty	Tamil	Janaki Vishwanathan (Director)	₹ 25,000/-
	Citation: For its realistic portrayal of the transition of a girl child from rural Tamilnadu to Chennai, in search of a livelihood. The film sensitises its viewers to the exploitation of child domestic labour, commonly prevalent within middle class families.
Special Mention	Panoi-Jongki	Miri / Mising	• Dilip Doley  • Narayan Seal (Director)	Certificate Only
	Citation: For effectively capturing the spirit of the colourful mongoloid tribe located at the foot hills of Arunachal Pradesh.

The award is given to best film in the regional languages in India.^[1][4]

Name of Award	Name of Film	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best Feature Film in Bengali	Hemanter Pakhi	Producer: NFDC Director: Urmi Chakraborty	₹ 20,000/- Each
	Citation: For showing the plight of an educated woman who seeks her own identity within the trappings of her traditional role of mother and wife. A contemporary socially relevant issue has been handled with great sensitivity.
Best Feature Film in Hindi	Dil Chahta Hai	Producer: Ritesh Sidhwani Director: Farhan Akhtar	₹ 20,000/- Each
	Citation: For artistically and humorously portraying the growing up years of young persons in modern society.
Best Feature Film in Kannada	Atithi	Producer: Mitrachitra Director: P. Sheshadri	₹ 20,000/- Each
	Citation: For addressing the universal affliction of terrorism. It portrays the impact of this scourge on innocent lives, human relations and behavioural patterns. It examines the issue at a human level with which viewers can empathise.
Best Feature Film in Malayalam	Dany	Producer: T. V. Chandran Director: T. V. Chandran	₹ 20,000/- Each
	Citation: For documenting the life of an ordinary human being who is denied any meaningful relationship within his family. In the end however the film very subtly but effectively brings out the triumph of the dignity of human relationships.
Best Feature Film in Odia	Magunira Shagada	Producer: NFDC Director: Prafulla Mohanty	₹ 20,000/- Each
	Citation: For showing the agony of a man trapped within tradition and unable to accept the changes that impact life around him.
Best Feature Film in Tamil	Ooruku Nooruper	Producer: L. Suresh Director: B. Lenin	₹ 20,000/- Each
	Citation: For depicting a thought provoking story about crime, based on ideology. It reflects upon life, death and justice.
Best Feature Film in Telugu	Show	Producer: Manjula Ghattamaneni Director: G. Neelakanta Reddy	₹ 20,000/- Each
	Citation: For depicting the development of human relations between two strangers with spontaneous humour and rare insight into life.

Best Feature Film in Each of the Language Other Than Those Specified in the Schedule VIII of the Constitution

Name of Award	Name of Film	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best Feature Film in English	Mitr, My Friend	Producer: Suresh Menon Director: Revathi	₹ 20,000/- Each
	Citation: For depicting the agony of individuals torn between social values practised in different societies. It explores the nuances of emotions within a marriage and family.

Short Films made in any Indian language and certified by the Central Board of Film Certification as a documentary/newsreel/fiction are eligible for non-feature film section.

A committee headed by K. K. Kapil was appointed to evaluate the non-feature films awards. Following were the jury members:^[1]

• Jury Members
  • K. K. Kapil (Chairperson) • Dinkar Chowdhary • K. Sudhakar Rao • Naresh Bedi • Shalini Shah

Official name: Swarna Kamal^[1][5]

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

Name of Award	Name of Film	Language	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best Non-Feature Film	Sonal	Hindi and English	Producer: Films Division Director: Prakash Jha	₹ 25,000/- Each
	Citation: For its excellent use of the cinematic medium to give an insight into one of the greatest dancers of India.
Best Non-Feature Film Direction	Jorasanko Thakurbari	English	Buddhadeb Dasgupta	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For artistically unfolding the history of the house of the Tagores.

Official name: Rajat Kamal^[1][5]

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

Name of Award	Name of Film	Language	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best First Non-Feature Film	Diary of a Housewife	Malayalam	Producer: Asha Joseph and Vinod Sukumaran Director: Vinod Sukumaran	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For the innovative approach in narrating the pathos of a housewife who is waiting for her husband to return from war.
Best Anthropological / Ethnographic Film	The Monpas of Arunachal Pradesh	English	Producer: Films Division Director: Aribam Syam Sharma	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For exploring the vibrant rites and rituals of the Monpa tribe.
Best Biographical Film	Teejan Bai	Hindi	Producer: Kuldeep Sinha for Films Division Director: V. Packirisamy	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For the portrayal of the success story of the folk artist.
Best Environment / Conservation / Preservation Film	The Holy Ganga	Hindi	Producer: Y.N. Engineer for Films Division Director: Viplove Bhatia	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For its thought provoking content which makes the viewers realise how badly the mother Ganga is treated.
Best Promotional Film	News Magazine No. 458 (In Search of Muga Silk)	English	Producer: Y.N. Engineer for Films Division Director: K.G. Das	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For depicting the unique art of Muga silk weaving of Assam.
Best Film on Social Issues	A New Paradigm	English	Producer: Aruna Raje Patil Director: Aruna Raje Patil	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For dealing with the lives of the mentally challenged, the trauma of their relatives and the endless effort of the teachers to bring hope to this segment of the society.
Best Educational / Motivational / Instructional Film	Kanavu Malayilekku	Malayalam	Producer: Tomy Mathew Director: M.G. Sasi	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For its attempt to reassert the tribal identity and impart a sense of dignity to the tribal children.
Best Investigative Film	Kalahandi	Oriya and English	Producer: Soudamini Mishra Director: Gautam Ghose	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For its courageous expose of endemic poverty in the backward region of Orissa and the state's apathy to it.
Best Animation Film	The Pink Camel	Hindi	Producer: Children's Film Society Director: Paushali Ganguli Animator: Paushali Ganguli	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For interesting animation, enlightening the viewers against superstitions.
Best Short Fiction Film	Chaitra	Marathi	Producer: Film and Television Institute of India Director: Kranti Kanade	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For beautifully exploring human relations centred around an age-old ritual of Haldi and Kumkum.
Best Film on Family Welfare	Sayante Thinte Padavukal	Malayalam	Producer: Ratheesh Ramayya Director: Satheesh Venganoor	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For sensitive portrayal of the plight of the aged who are neglected by their families.
Best Cinematography	Jorasanko Thakurbari	English	Cameraman: Nilotpal Sarkar Laboratory Processing: Prasad Film Laboratory	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For imaginatively capturing images in light and shade, through smooth movements to bring life to the historical house of the Tagores'.
	The Monpas of Arunachal Pradesh	English	Cameraman: Irom Maipak Laboratory Processing: Prasad Kalinga Lab
	Citation: For his fascinating style of framing under uncontrolled situations.
Best Audiography	Enough of Silence	English	Anup Mukherjee	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For adding a new dimension to the film through innovative sound track.
Best Editing	Athman	Universal	Ajith	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For maintaining the pace and drama of the film without any spoken words.
Best Music Direction	Chaitra	Marathi	Bhaskar Chandavarkar	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For creating traditional music that blends aesthetically with the theme of the film.
Special Jury Award	Orchestra	Hindi	Kireet Khurana (Producer) Bhimsain (Director)	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For effectively conveying the message of national integration through synchronous use of sound and animated images of musical instruments.
Special Mention	Kalahandi	Oriya and English	A. R. Tripathi	Certificate Only
	Citation: For his carefully crafted words giving an additional dimension to the film.
	Chaitra	Marathi	Sonali Kulkarni (Actor)
	Citation: For the subtle display of her wide range of emotions.

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.

A committee headed by Bharat Gopy was appointed to evaluate the writing on Indian cinema. Following were the jury members:^[1]

• Jury Members
  • Bharat Gopy (Chairperson) • Ratnottama Sengupta • Savita Bhakhry

Official name: Swarna Kamal^[1]

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

Name of Award	Name of Book	Language	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best Book on Cinema	Asoumiya Chalachitrar Chaa-Pohar	Assamese	Author: Apurba Sarma Publisher: Jnan Pujari	₹ 7,500/- Each
	Citation: For its panoramic and incisive analysis of Assamese cinema in the context of National and International scenario.
	Moulik Marathi Chitrageete	Marathi	Author: Gangadhar Mahambare Publisher: Rajiv D. Barve
	Citation: For its lucid, anecdotal narration of the growth of Marathi cinema through its film songs.
Best Film Critic		Hindi	Vinod Anupam	₹ 15,000/-
	Citation: For the deep insight and social concern reflected in his questioning of phenomenon as varied as the disappearance of villages from Hindi screen and the glorification of terrorism.

All the award winners are awarded with Certificate of Merit.^[1]

Name of Award	Language	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Special Mention (Film Critic)	Malayalam	Author: C. S. Venkiteswaran	Certificate Only
	Citation: For his serious approach in understanding the celluloid idiom and its social implications.

Following were the awards not given as no film was found to be suitable for the award:^[1][4]

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