The 66th National Film Awards is all set to take place in Delhi on Monday. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will give away the awards in presence of Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar, and other senior dignitaries. The function will witness film luminaries being awarded for their outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian Cinema. Traditionally, the National Awards are handed out to the winners by the President of India, but this time President Ram Nath Kovind will not attend the ceremony. Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan to be awarded the prestigious 50th Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Indian cinema’s biggest honour in his 50th year in the Indian film industry. But the actor on Sunday announced his regret in attending the awards due to his health restrictions. Earlier, it was was announced that Gujarati film ‘Hellaro’ won Best Feature Film Award. ‘Badhaai Ho’ bagged award for Best Popular Film and Hindi movie ‘Padman’ declared Best Film on Social Issues. Aditya Dhar won Best Director Award for ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’. Ayushman Khurana and Vicky Kaushal jointly won Best Actor Award for their performances in ‘Andhadhun’ and ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’. Keerthy Suresh bagged Best Actress trophy for her performance in Telugu movie ‘Mahanati’ and Marathi movie ‘Paani’ won the award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/ Preservation. Kannada film ‘Ondalla Eradalla’ gets Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration and Uttarakhand declared Most Film Friendly State.
