The 65th National Film Awards were announced yesterday. These awards will honour exemplary contributions to Indian cinema for the year 2017. Late actress Sridevi has been judged as the best actress. The awards were announced by Shekhar Kapur, the head of the jury, at the PIB Conference Room, Shastri Bhawan in New Delhi. The felicitation ceremony is scheduled for 3rd May and awards will be presented by President Ram Nath Kovind.
Sridevi passed on 24th February 2018 in Dubai. She was 54.
Jury Members of 65th #NationalFilmAwards presenting Jury Report to Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Textiles, Smt. @smritiirani at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi. Head of the Jury, Shri @shekharkapur is also seen along with other Jury Members. pic.twitter.com/KkJlH1WZk5
— MIB India 🇮🇳 #StayHome #StaySafe (@MIB_India) April 12, 2018
Late actress Sridevi has been announced as the winner of "Best Actress Award" for her movie "Mom". The movie also won the National Film Award for Best Background Score.
“It was not because of the relationship we shared but because she was the most deserving candidate for her portrayal in Mom,” said Shekhar Kapur, who headed this year’s feature film jury.
Her Mom co-star, Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui, told the PTI, “I am not surprised, she deserved more. She deserves each and every award of the world. From a child actor till her last film. I am happy that she got a send off at the state level. But I am saddened that she got the award when she is not here today.”
Apart from Kapur, this year's jury had 10 members. Screenwriter Imtiaz Hussain, lyricist Mehboob, South Indian actress Gautami Tadimalla, Kannada director P Sheshadri, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Ranjit Das, Rajesh Mapuskar, Tripurari Sharma and Rumi Jaffrey.
Sridevi's Legacy will live on
Her daughters and her husband released a joint statement after the announcements were made reported The Indian Express.
Boney Kapoor her husband said, “Thank you. I just wish she was here today to see this,”
Janhvi and Khushi said, “We are overjoyed to know that the jury has conferred the best actor award to Sridevi for her performance in Mom. It’s a very special moment for all of us. She was always a perfectionist and it showed in all the 300 plus films she did. She was not just a super actor but a super wife and a super mom. It’s time to celebrate her life and her achievements. She is not with us today but her legacy will always live on.”
Further, they thanked the government for the award, and added, "We thank the Government of India, the Hon'ble Jury Members for this honour. We also take this opportunity to thank all our friends, her fans who have been sending us congratulatory messages. Thank you."
Also, her co-actor in many movies, and later her brother-in-law, Anil Kapoor tweeted extending his support:
— Anil Kapoor (@AnilKapoor) April 13, 2018
Extremely happy to know that Sridevi garu won the National Award as best Actress for the film MOM... A well deserving honour to one of the best actors of our country ... Proud to be a writer of this film 🙏 pic.twitter.com/bA05LTkXbt
— kona venkat (@konavenkat99) April 13, 2018
Also Read: Janhvi Kapoor Pens Down an Emotional Tribute to Sridevi
Nimisha is an intern with SheThePeople.TV