66th National Film Awards
The 66th National Film Awards ceremony was the award ceremony which took place in 2019 to honour the best films of 2018, in the Indian cinema. The declaration of awards was delayed due to 2019 Indian general election.
Selection process
The Directorate of Film Festivals invited online entries and the acceptable last date for entries was until 22 January 2019. Feature and Non-Feature Films certified by Central Board of Film Certification between 1 January 2018, and 31 December 2018, were eligible for the film award categories. Books, critical studies, reviews or articles on cinema published in Indian newspapers, magazines, and journals between 1 January 2018, and 31 December 2018, were eligible for the best writing on cinema section. Entries of dubbed, revised or copied versions of a film or translation, abridgements, edited or annotated works and reprints were ineligible for the awards.For the Feature and Non-Feature Films sections, films in any Indian language, shot on 16 mm, 35 mm, a wider film gauge or a digital format, and released in cinemas, on video or digital formats for home viewing were eligible. Films were required to be certified as a feature film, a featurette or a Documentary/Newsreel/Non-Fiction by the Central Board of Film Certification.
Best Film Friendly State
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 a State Government Policy.- Jury Members
| Award | Name of State | Citation |
| Best Film Friendly State | State of Uttarakhand | For furthering the growth of the film industry in the State including creating an environment for ease of filming in the State, encouraging skill/talent development, incentivizing the re-opening of closed cinema halls, formation of film development fund, continuing with the earlier incentive plan for filming, formation of Utttarakhand Film Development Council among other pro active initiatives. |
Dadasaheb Phalke Award
Introduced in 1969, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the highest award given to recognise the contributions of film personalities towards the development of Indian cinema and for distinguished contributions to the medium, its growth and promotion." The recipient is awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award ', cash prize, and a shawl.| Award | Awardee | Awarded As | Cash Prize |
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award | Amitabh Bachchan | Actor |
Feature Films
Jury
For the Feature Film section, six committees were formed based on the different geographic regions in India. The two-tier evaluation process included a central committee and five regional committees. The central committee, headed by the director Rahul Rawail, included the heads of each regional committee and five other jury members. At regional level, each committee consisted of one chief and four members. The chief and one non-chief member of each regional committee were selected from outside that geographic region. The table below names the jury members for the central and regional committees:Central Jury
Northern Region:
Eastern Region:
Western Region:
Southern Region I:
Southern Region II:
All India Award
Golden Lotus Awards
Official Name: Swarna KamalAll the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award ', a certificate and cash prize.
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film | Hellaro | Gujarati | Producer: Saarthi Productions LLP Director: Abhishek Shah | 250,000/- each |
| Best Debut Film of a Director | Naal | Marathi | Producer: Mrudhgandh Films LLP Director: Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti | 125,000/- each |
| Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Badhaai Ho | Hindi | Producer: Junglee Pictures Limited Director: Amit Sharma | 200,000/- each |
| Best Children's Film | Kannada | Producer & Director: Rishab Shetty | 150,000/- each | |
| Best Direction | Hindi | Aditya Dhar | 250,000/- |
Silver Lotus Award
Official Name: Rajat KamalAll the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award ', a certificate and cash prize.
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee | Cash Prize |
| Best Feature Film on National Integration | Ondalla Eradalla | Kannada | Producer: Umapathy Srinivas Director: D Satya Prakash | 150,000/- each |
| Best Film on Other Social Issues | Pad Man | Hindi | Producer: Hope Productions Pvt. Ltd Director: R. Balki | 150,000/- each |
| Best Film on Environment/Conservation/Preservation | Paani | Marathi | Producer:Purple Pebble Pictures Director:Adinath Kothare | 150,000/- each |
| Best Actor | Andhadhun | Hindi | Ayushman Khurrana | 50,000/- |
| Best Actor | ' | Hindi | Vicky Kaushal | 50,000/- |
| Best Actress | Mahanati | Telugu | Keerthy Suresh | 50,000/- |
| Best Supporting Actor | Chumbak | Marathi | Swanand Kirkire | 50,000/- |
| Best Supporting Actress | Badhaai Ho | Hindi | Surekha Sikri | 50,000/- |
| Best Child Artist | Ondalla Eradalla | Kannada | P V Rohith | 50,000/- |
| Best Child Artist | Naal | Marathi | Shrinivas Pokale | 50,000/- |
| Best Child Artist | Harjeeta | Punjabi | Sameep Ranaut | 50,000/- |
| Best Child Artist | Hamid | Urdu | Talha Arshad Reshi | 50,000/- |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Padmaavat | Hindi | Arijit Singh | 50,000/- |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Nathicharami | Kannada | Bindhu Malini | 50,000/- |
| Best Cinematography | Olu | Malayalam | M. J. Radhakrishnan | 50,000/- |
| Best Screenplay Screenplay Writer | Chi La Sow | Telugu | Rahul Ravindran | 50,000/- |
| Best Screenplay Screenplay Writer | Andhadhun | Hindi | Sriram Raghavan, Arijit Biswas, Yogesh Chandekar, Hemanth Rao, and Pooja Ladha Surti | 50,000/- |
| Best Screenplay Dialogues | Tarikh | Bengali | Churni Ganguly | 50,000/- |
| Best Audiography Location Sound Recordist | Tendalya | Marathi | Gaurav Verma | 50,000/- |
| Best Audiography Sound Designer | ' | Hindi | Bishwadeep Chatterjee | 50,000/- |
| Best Audiography Re-recordist of the Final Mixed Track | Rangasthalam | Telugu | Raja Krishnan M.R | 50,000/- |
| Best Editing | Nathicharami | Kannada | Nagendra Ujjani | 50,000/- |
| Best Production Design | Kammara Sambhavam | Malyalam | Bangalan | 50,000/- |
| Best Costume Design | Mahanati | Telugu | Indrakshi Pattanaik, Gaurang Shah & Archana Rao | 50,000/- |
| Best Make-up Artist | Awe | Telugu | Ranjith | 50,000/- |
| Best Music Direction Songs | Padmaavat | Hindi | Sanjay Leela Bhansali | 50,000/- |
| Best Music Direction Background Score | ' | Hindi | Shashwat Sachdev | 50,000/- |
| Best Lyrics | Nathicharami | Kannada | Manjunatha S. Reddy | 50,000/- |
| Best Special Effects | ' | Kannada | Unifi Media | 50,000/- |
| Best Special Effects | Awe | Telugu | Srushti Creative Studio | 50,000/- |
| Best Choreography | Padmaavat | Hindi | Jyoti D Tommar & Kruti Mahesh Midya | 50,000/- |
| Best Stunt Choreographer | Kannada | Vikram More, Anbu Ariv | 50,000/- | |
| Special Jury Award | Kedara | Bengali | Indraadip Dasgupta | 2,00,000/- |
| Special Jury Award | Hellaro | Gujarati | Shraddha Dangar, Shachi Joshi, Denisha Ghumra, Neelam Paanchal, Tarjani Bhadla, Brinda Nayak, Tejal Panchasara, Kaushambi Bhatt, Ekta Bachwani, Kamini Panchal, Jagruti Thakore, Riddhi Yadav, and Prapti Mehta | 2,00,000/- |
| Special Mention | Nathicharami | Kannada | Sruthi Hariharan | Certificate only |
| Special Mention | Kadhak | Hindi | Chandrachoor Rai | Certificate only |
| Special Mention | Joseph | Malayalam | Joju George | Certificate only |
| Special Mention | Sudani From Nigeria | Malayalam | Savithri Sreedharan | Certificate only |
Regional Awards
National Film Awards are also given to the best films in the regional languages of India. Awards for the regional languages are categorised as per their mention in the Eighth schedule of the Constitution of India. Awardees included producers and directors of the film. No films in languages other than those specified in the Schedule VIII of the Constitution were eligible.;Best Feature Film in Each of the Language Other Than Those Specified In the Schedule VIII of the Constitution
Non-Feature Films
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.Jury
A committee of seven, headed by cinematographer A. S. Kanal, was appointed to evaluate the Non-Feature Films entries. The jury members were:Golden Lotus Award
Official Name: Swarna KamalAll the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award ', a certificate and cash prize.
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee | Cash Prize |
| Best Non-Feature Film | Son Rise & The Secret Life of Frogs | Vibha Bakshi Ajay Bedi & Vijay Bedi | 150,000/- each | |
| Best Director in Non-Feature Film | Bengali | Sagnik Chatterjee | 150,000/- |
Silver Lotus Award
Official Name: Rajat KamalAll the Awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award ' and cash prize.
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee | Cash Prize |
| Best First Non-Feature Film | Son Rise | Vibha Bakshi | 75,000/- each | |
| Best Biographical Film / Best Historical Reconstruction / Compilation Film | 50,000/- each | |||
| Best Arts / Cultural Film | ' | English with Hindi | Satyaprakash Upadhyay | 50,000/- each |
| Best Environment Film including Best Agricultural Film | The World's Most Famous Tiger | Subbiah Nallamuthu | 50,000/- each | |
| Best Promotional Film | Rediscovering Jajam | Avinash Maurya, Kriti Gupta Rachel Bracken Singh | 50,000/- each | |
| Best Film on Social Issues | Taala Te Kunje'e | Shilpi Gulati Simardeep Singh | 50,000/- each | |
| Best Educational / Motivational / Instructional Film | Sarala Virala | Kannada | Ere Gowda | 50,000/- each |
| Best Anthropological/Ethnographic Film | 50,000/- each | |||
| Best Exploration / Adventure Film | Swimming Through The Darkness | Supriyo Sen | 50,000/- each | |
| Best Investigative Film | Amoli | Jasmine Kaur Roy Avinash Roy | 50,000/- each | |
| Best Animation Film | 50,000/- each | |||
| Best Short Fiction Film | Kharvas | Aditya Suhas Jambhale | 50,000/- each | |
| Best Film on Family Welfare | Chalo Jeetey Hai | 50,000/- each | ||
| Best Cinematography | The Secret Life of Frogs | Ajay Bedi, Vijay Bedi | 50,000/- each | |
| Best Audiography | Children Of the Soil | Bishwadeep Chatterjee | 50,000/- | |
| Best Audiography Location Sound Recordist | The Secret Life of Frogs | Ajay Bedi | 50,000/- | |
| Best Editing | Son Rise | Hemanti Sarkar | 50,000/- | |
| Best Music Direction | Jyoti | Kedar Divekar | 50,000/- | |
| Best Narration / Voice Over | Madhubani: The Station Of Colour | "Urvija Upadhyay" "Deepak Agnihotri" | 50,000/- | |
| Special Mention | Mahaan Hutatma Glow Worm in a Jungle Laddoo | Kannada English Hindi | Sagar Puranik Ramana Dumpala Sameer and Kishore Sadhwani | Certificate only |
Best Writing on Cinema
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.Jury
A committee of three, headed by Utpal Borpujari was appointed to evaluate the nominations for the best writing on Indian cinema. The jury members were as follows:Golden Lotus Award
Official Name: Swarna KamalAll the awardees are awarded with the Golden Lotus Award accompanied with a cash prize.
| Award | Book | Language | Awardee | Cash Prize |
| Best Book on Cinema | Mouna Prathanapole | Malayalam | Publisher: Kerala State Chalachitra Academy Author: S. Jayachandran Nair | 75,000/- each |
| Best Film Critic | N/A | Malayalam Hindi | Blais Johnny Anant Vijay | 75,000/- |
| Special Mention | In A Cult Of Their Own: Bollywood Beyond Box Office | English | Amborish Roychoudhury | Certificate Only |