Cinema should help strengthen family systems and promote democratic values : Naidu

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : The Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu on December 23, 2019, conferred National Film Awards for the year 2018in various categories at its 66^th edition, held in New Delhi.

Union Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Minister  Prakash Javadekar; Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Ravi Mittal; Chairperson, Feature Film Category, Rahul Rawail;  Chairperson, Non-Feature Film Category, A S Kanal; Chairperson, Best Writing on Cinema, Utpal Borpujari and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Naidu spoke on how violence has no place in democracy and that Film makers must make conscious effort to ensure that dialogues, depiction of characters and costumes reflect India’s culture, customs, practices and traditions. He further added that Cinema should also help in strengthening family systems and promoting democratic values. “I call upon the film fraternity to curb the depiction of violence, vulgarity and obscenity in view of the huge impact films make on the masses, particularly youngsters. Art speaks a universal language and helps shape social norms,” Naidu said.

Talking about Indian films’ popularity globally and how cinemas has no geographical or religious boundaries because it speaks a universal language and touches the raw emotions, the Vice President said, “Indian films carry an important message to audiences across the world. They convey a glimpse of ‘Indianness’ or ‘Bharatheeyatha’ to the outside world. We need to be effective ambassadors in the world of cultural diplomacy.”

Union Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar stated, “Our theatre and our films is our asset, it is our soft power and we must harness it to take advantage of this. To ease the process of film shooting permissions and clearances, we have prepared a single window system at Films Division. We are also in the process of implementing this regionally.”

Congratulating the Award winners, Javadekar dwelt on the magical world of cinema and the talent that goes behind creating it. “Film is such an art that as Vishwakarma creates a world, the filmmaker also creates a new world and we immerse ourselves in that world,”he stated.

Some of the prominent winners in various categories for this year National Film Awards includes Gujarati film ‘Hellaro’ in Best Feature Film category. ‘Badhaai Ho’ bagged the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment while Hindi movie ‘Padman; was awarded Best Film on Social Issues. Aditya Dhar won Best Director Award for ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’, while 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’.

Marathi movie ‘Naal’ got the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director while another Marathi movie ‘Paani’ won the award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/ Preservation. Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration was given to Kannada film ‘Ondalla Eradalla’ and Uttarakhand was awarded the Most Film Friendly State.

The President of India Ram Nath Kovind will host a high–tea for the Award winners on December 29, 2019, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, wherein the great doyen of Indian cinema Amitabh Bachchan, who could not attend today’s function due to ill-health, will be presented with the 50th Dadasaheb Phalke Award, according to a PIB release.