The winners of India’s 69th National Film Awards were announced in New Delhi on Thursday, comprising nominees from the 2020-2021 season. RRR was the big winner of the night with the most awards – with Rocketry winning best film overall.
RRR, whose original song “Naatu Naatu” became the first Indian and first overall Asian song to win a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song, is the first Indian film to win an Academy Award overall. At the National Film Awards, it won for popular film, male singer for Kaala Bhairava, background score, special effects, choreography and action direction, making it the most awarded film of the night with six accolades.
Ranganathan Madhavan’s directorial debut Rocketry won best film, and Bhavin Rabari of Last Film Show, India’s 2021 entry for the Academy Awards’ international feature category, took home the award for best child actor.
“It was a very tough competition between all the films in every category,” said Anurag Thakur, India’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting. “My congratulations and best wishes are with the winners. Today India is the largest film maker in the world. We have the potential to become the content hub of the world. This is our time. Today our films are being recognized all over the world, be it BAFTA or the Oscars.”
For a full list of winners, see here.