17th National Film Awards
The 17th National Film Awards were presented by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India to facilitate the best of Indian cinema released in 1969. The ceremony took place at University Centenary Auditorium, Madras on 21 November 1970.
At the 17th National Film Awards, a new award was introduced to honour the father of Indian cinema, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, better known as Dadasaheb Phalke. Named the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, it was introduced to recognise the contribution of film personalities towards the development of Indian cinema. Starting with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Phalke in 1870, the award was awarded annually for this distinguished contribution.
Juries
Six different committees were formed based on the filmmaking sectors in India; along with the award categories, they were mainly based in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. Another committee for the All India level was also formed, which included some of the members from the regional committees. For the 17th National Film Awards, this central committee was headed by Justice G. D. Khosla.- Jury Members: Central
- * G. D. Khosla Sitaram KesriShiela VatsA. C. JalanEzra MirB. K. KaranjiaTeji BachchanI. S. JoharHaridas BhattacharjeeU. Visweswar RaoSunder Lal NahataM. N. Kapur
- Jury Members: Documentary
- * Tara Ali Baig Rashid-Ul-TalibKapila VatsyayanUsha BhagatShanta Gandhi
- Jury Members: Short Films
- * Amrita Pritam R. G. AnandInder Lal Das
- Jury Regional: Bombay
- * Nissim Ezekiel Urmila KapurNavin KhandwallaR. S. PandeFiroze RangoonwallaBikram SinghBal ChhabdaShatrujit PaulBuny TalwarG. P. Shirke
- Jury Regional: Calcutta
- * Amala Shankar Roma ChoudhryChintamoni KarK. C. PanigrahiA. K. PramanickUtpal DuttaKanan DeviKartic ChatterjeeDurgadas MitraArti Tagore
- Jury Regional: Madras
- * C. R. Pattabhiraman P. Achutha MenonR. K. NarayanMallikarjuna RaoSarojini VaradappanK. ManoharanRajammal AnantharamanV. C. SubburamanD. V. S. RajuB. Ananthaswami
Awards
The President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film is now better known as the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, whereas the President's Gold Medal for the Best Documentary Film is analogous to today's National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film. For children's films, the Prime Minister's Gold Medal is now given as the National Film Award for Best Children's Film. At the regional level, the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film is now given as the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in a particular language. Certificates of Merit in all categories have been discontinued over the years.
Lifetime Achievement Award
| Award | Awardee | Awarded As | Cash Prize |
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award | Devika Rani Chaudhuri Roerich | Actress | 11,000, a shawl and a plaque |
Feature films
Feature films were awarded at the All India as well as the regional level. For the 17th National Film Awards, a Bengali film Bhuvan Shome won the President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film while also winning the maximum number of awards.All India awards
The awards given at the All India level were as follows:| Award | Film | Language | Awardee | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film | Bhuvan Shome | Hindi | Producer: Mrinal Sen | Gold Medal and 20,000 |
| Best Feature Film | Bhuvan Shome | Hindi | Director: Mrinal Sen | Gold Medal and 20,000 |
| Second Best Feature Film | Dibratrir Kabya | Bengali | Producer: M/s. Nabik Productions | 5,000 and a medal |
| Second Best Feature Film | Dibratrir Kabya | Bengali | Director: Bimal Bhowmick | 2,000 and a plaque |
| Second Best Feature Film | Dibratrir Kabya | Bengali | Director: Narayan Chakraborty | 2,000 and a plaque |
| Best Feature Film on National Integration | Saat Hindustani | Hindi | Producer: Khwaja Ahmad Abbas | 5,000 and a medal |
| Best Feature Film on National Integration | Saat Hindustani | Hindi | Director: Khwaja Ahmad Abbas | 5,000 and a medal |
| Best Actor | Bhuvan Shome | Hindi | Utpal Dutt | A figurine |
| Best Actress | Dibratrir Kabya | Bengali | Madhabi Mukherjee | A figurine |
| Best Direction | Bhuvan Shome | Hindi | Mrinal Sen | 5,000 and a plaque |
| Best Music Direction | Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai | Punjabi | S. Mohinder | 5,000 and a plaque |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Aradhana | Hindi | Sachin Dev Burman | A plaque |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Thunaivan | Tamil | K. B. Sundarambal | A plaque |
| Lyric Writer of the Best Film Song on National Integration | Saat Hindustani | Hindi | Kaifi Azmi | A plaque |
| Best Screenplay | Gejje Pooje | Kannada | S. R. Puttanna Kanagal | 5,000 and a plaque |
| Best Cinematography | Sara Akash | Hindi | K. K. Mahajan | 5,000 and a plaque |
| Best Cinematography | Shanti Nilayam | Tamil | Marcus Bartley | 5,000 and a plaque |
Regional awards
Some awards were given to the best films made in the various regional languages of India. For feature films in English, the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film was not given. The producer and director of the winning films were awarded with 5,000 and a Silver medal, respectively.Non-Feature films
Awards were also given to numerous short films.| Award | Film | Language | Awardee | Cash Prize |
| Best Information Film | Amrita Sher-Gil | English | Producer: B. D. Garga | 5,000 and a medal |
| Best Information Film | Amrita Sher-Gil | English | Director: B. D. Garga | 5,000 and a medal |
| Best Educational / Instructional Film | Life | English | Producer: K. L. Khandpur for Films Division | 5,000 and a medal |
| Best Educational / Instructional Film | Life | English | Director: S. Gangooii | 2,000 and a plaque |
| Best Animation Film | Umbrella | English | Producer: G. K. Gokhale for Films Division | 5,000 and a medal |
| Best Animation Film | Umbrella | English | Director: B. R. Shendge | 2,000 and a plaque |
| Best Promotional Film | Weave Me Some Flowers | English | Producer: Mohan Wadhwani for Films Division | A medal only |
| Best Promotional Film | Weave Me Some Flowers | English | Director: P. B. Pendharkar | A plaque only |