42nd National Film Awards

The 42nd National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1994.^[1] Ceremony took place in 1995 and awards were given by then President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma.

42nd National Film Awards
Awarded for	Best of Indian cinema in 1994
Awarded by	Directorate of Film Festivals
Presented by	Shankar Dayal Sharma (President of India)
Announced on	2 June 1995 (1995-06-02)
Presented on	17 July 1995 (1995-07-17)
Site	Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi
Official website	dff.nic.in
Highlights
Best Feature Film	Unishe April
Best Non-Feature Film	Rasayatra
Best Book	Abhinayam Anubhavam
Best Film Critic	Rashmi Doraiswamy
Dadasaheb Phalke Award	Dilip Kumar
Most awards	• Kadhalan  • Parinayam (4)
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Awards

Awards were divided into feature films, non-feature films and books written on Indian cinema.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Name of Award	Image	Awardee(s)	Awarded As	Awards
Dadasaheb Phalke Award		Dilip Kumar[2]	Actor	Swarna Kamal, ₹ 100,000 and a Shawl

Feature films

Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 42nd National Film Awards, a Bengali film, Unishe April won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film whereas a Tamil film, Kadhalan and a Malayalam film, Parinayam won the maximum number of awards (4). Following were the awards given in each category:^[1]

All India Award

Following were the awards given:^[1]

Golden Lotus Award

Official Name: Swarna Kamal^[1]

All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.

Name of Award	Name of Film	Language	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best Feature Film	Unishe April	Bengali	Producer: Renu Roy	₹ 50,000/-
			director: Rituparno Ghosh	₹ 25,000/-
	Citation: For a complex and impeccable rendition of fragmenting family relationships in urban India. The bond between a mother and daughter is extended to a defined space and time, and a drama immaculately constructed.
Best Debut Film of A Director	Mogha Mull	Tamil	Producer: J. Dharmambal Director: Gnana Rajasekaran	₹ 25,000/- Each
	Citation: For an able translation of a literary work of art, for integrating music with melodramatic narrative and for a cinematic simplicity matched with remarkable directorial control.
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment	Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!	Hindi	Producer: Rajshri Productions	₹ 40,000/-
			Director: Sooraj R. Barjatya	₹ 20,000/-
	Citation: For revolutionising mass entertainment in India with a family entertainer and a fantasy film that succeeds without recourse to familiar narrative idioms of violence.
Best Children's Film	Kochaniyan	Malayalam	Producer: Bushura Shahudeen	₹ 30,000/-
			Director: Sathieesh Vengannoor	₹ 15,000/-
	Citation: For a simple but effective tale of a middle class Kerala family told through the experiences and dreams of a young boy.
	Abhay	Hindi	Producer: National Center of Films for Children and Young People	₹ 30,000/-
			Director: Annu Kapoor	₹ 15,000/-
	Citation: For an entertaining film advocating humane love between a child and a ghost advocating a rational outlook to life.
Best Direction	Xagoroloi Bohudoor	Assamese	Jahnu Barua	₹ 50,000/-
	Citation: For capturing Assamese life and reality in an original format uniquely associated with the director, and for enriching the spectrum of Indian Cinema thereby.

Silver Lotus Award

Official Name: Rajat Kamal^[1]

All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.

Name of Award	Name of Film	Language	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best Feature Film on National Integration	Mukta	Marathi	Producer: Ashok B. Mhatre	₹ 30,000/-
			Director: Jabbar Patel	₹ 15,000/-
	Citation: For mapping a sharply defined dramatic style on to a canvas of national caste oppresion and for unversalising the alliances of the Indian Dalit people.
Best Film on Family Welfare	Karuththamma	Tamil	Producer: Vetrivel Art Creations	₹ 30,000/-
			Director: Bharathiraja	₹ 15,000/-
	Citation: For extending the pressing social issue of female infanticide onto a melodrama spanning the canvas of rural Tamil Nadu, a dimension that is now uniquely Bharathiraja signature.
Best Film on Other Social Issues	Parinayam	Malayalam	Producer: G. P. Vijayakumar	₹ 30,000/-
			Director: Hariharan	₹ 15,000/-
	Citation: For recreating a real incident in the social history of Kerala, thereby indicating the continued relevance of gender oppression in traditional caste-dominated society.
	Wheelchair	Bengali	Producer: NFDC	₹ 30,000/-
			Director: Tapan Sinha	₹ 15,000/-
	Citation: For a positive rendition of the condition of handicapped people suggesting affirmative action.
Best Film on Environment / Conservation / Preservation	Nirbachana	Oriya	Producer: NFDC and Doordarshan	₹ 30,000/-
			Director: Biplab Ray Chowdhury	₹ 15,000/-
	Citation: For a stunningly controlled and uniquely cinematic metaphor of rural India and impending environment catastrophe shown with compassion and satire.
Best Actor	Krantiveer	Hindi	Nana Patekar	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For his impressive portrayal of a man who lives on his own terms. He is able to rekindle in the common man the deep, hidden resource of strength that lies dormant in each one of us.
Best Actress	Unishe April	Bengali	Debashree Roy	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For her complete identification with character of lonely doctor. The wide range of emotion is portrayed in a most sensitive and controlled manner in this film.
Best Supporting Actor	Drohkaal	Hindi	Ashish Vidyarthi	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For bringing credibility to his role with strength and total conviction.
	Nammavar	Tamil	Nagesh
	Citation: For making heart break of a broken father come alive with dignity and poise.
Best Supporting Actress	Mammo	Hindi	Surekha Sikri	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For her portrayal of surrogate mother, underplayed with quite sensitivity and gentleness.
Best Child Artist	Kotreshi Kanasu	Kannada	Vijay Raghavendra	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For his portrayal of bright little boy who is a social outcast. He wins your heart with his soft and endearing mannerisms.
Best Male Playback Singer	• Kadhalan ("Ennavale Adi Ennavale")  • Pavithra ("Uyirum Neeye")	Tamil	P. Unni Krishnan	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For his range and masterly rendition of the songs of two Tamil films, demonstrating a rare professionalism and command over technique.
Best Female Playback Singer	Karuththamma ("Porale Ponnuthaaye")	Tamil	Swarnalatha	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For her extraordinarily compassionate song upon which much of the crucial dramatic action in the film is enacted.
Best Cinematography	Thenmavin Kombath	Malayalam	Cameraman: K. V. Anand Laboratory Processing: Gemini Color Lab, Madras	₹ 15,000/-
	Citation: In recognition of the outstanding cinematography executed with sincerity, imagination and flexibility. Fluid camera movements, praise compositions, and use of light are the highlights of this visual experience.
Best Screenplay	Parinayam	Malayalam	M. T. Vasudevan Nair	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For his masterly use of fiction in cinema, reconstructing pre-1940s Kerala through sharply defined characters and remarkable control over dialogue.
Best Audiography	Kadhalan	Tamil	• A. S. Laxmi Narayanan  • V. S. Murthy	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For combining numerous effects in multiple tracks and an often dazzling array of music, sound and dialogue with remarkable technical control.
Best Editing	Kadhalan	Tamil	• B. Lenin  • V. T. Vijayan	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For the sheer magic of an editing idiom, cut to perfect timing event at a breath taking pace, in sequences that often make the implausible a plausibility.
Best Art Direction	Thenmavin Kombath	Malayalam	Sabu Cyril	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For creating an appropriate space for a romantic fantasy in cinema-scope in tandem with the cinematography.
Best Costume Design	Amodini	Bengali	Supriya Dasgupta	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For an aesthetic recreation of 18th century costumes, evoking the traditions of Bengali painting and theatre.
Best Music Direction	• Parinayam  • Sukrutham	Malayalam	Ravi (Bombay)	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For his melodious rendering of his tunes. The music in both the films exhibit originality and creatively highlights the entire mood of the two films, achieving musical harmony
	Sukrutham	Malayalam	Johnson
	Citation: For scoring the background music.
Best Lyrics	• Karuththamma ("Poralae Ponnuthayi")  • Pavithra ("Uyirum Neeye")	Tamil	Vairamuthu	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: Through their lyrics, he is able to bring to the fore his rich repertory of poetic expression which sensitively enhances the mood of the films.
Best Special Effects	Kadhalan	Tamil	• C. Murugesh  • S. T. Venki	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: In recognition of many spectacular sequences creatively engineered.
Best Choreography	Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!	Hindi	Jay Borade	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For a graceful and aesthetically pleasing choreography, contemporary and yet traditional in its adherence to Indian cultural practices.
Special Jury Award	Param Vir Chakra	Hindi	Radhu Karmakar (Posthumously) (Cinematographer)	₹ 25,000/- Each
	Citation: In appreciation of a lifetime achievement in creating some of the most memorable moments in Indian film history.
	Swaham	Malayalam	Shaji N. Karun (Director)
	Citation: For one of the most outstanding directors of Indian cinema, for sensitively probing the vacuum created in a family, when its central pivot is lost in death.
Special Mention	Nammavar	Tamil	Mahesh Mahadevan (Music director)	Certificate Only
	Citation: For his unusual and innovative score, using sound effects as an integral part of his musical arrangement.
	Xagoroloi Bohudoor	Assamese	Bishnu Kharghoria (Actor)
	Citation: For his poignant and memorable role for bringing alive the heartrending agony of a boatman and his grandson, who is not only deserted by his son, but also his life sustaining river – his only source of livelihood.
	Parinayam	Malayalam	S. Kumar (Cinematographer)
	Citation: For recreating and bringing to life an ambiance and characters that help lend credibility to a difficult and complex scenario. Sensitively handled and a sustained performance where the camera and lights have been used as an extension of the creative story teller.

Regional Awards

The award is given to best film in the regional languages in India.^[1]

Name of Award	Name of Film	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best Feature Film in Assamese	Xagoroloi Bohudoor	Producer: Sailadhar Baruah and Jahnu Barua	₹ 20,000/-
		Director: Jahnu Barua	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For the filmmaker's ability to tell a complex tale with minimal canvas, handling the medium with control, restraint and extraordinary sensitivity.
Best Feature Film in Bengali	Amidini	Producer: NFDC and Doordarshan	₹ 20,000/-
		Director: Chidananda Dasgupta	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For a stylised and innovative period rendition of complex social relations in 18th century Bengal, integrating performances with camera movements and mise en scene.
Best Feature Film in Hindi	Mammo	Producer: NFDC and Doordarshan	₹ 20,000/-
		Director: Shyam Benegal	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For a poignant narrative of a family set against the trauma of exiled people in past post partition India.
Best Feature Film in Kannada	Kotreshi Kanasu	Producer: G. Nandakumar	₹ 20,000/-
		Director: Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For a simple but effective tale of a young harijan boy fighting cast justice in rural Karnataka.
Best Feature Film in Malayalam	Sukrutham	Producer: M. M. Ramachandran	₹ 20,000/-
		Director: Hari Kumar	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: Against the backdrop of impending death, complex marital and social relationships are explored.
Best Feature Film in Manipuri	Mayophy Gee Macha	Producer: Thouyangba and Thoungamba	₹ 20,000/-
		Director: Oken Amakcham	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For a simple story of a rural life in Manipuri handled with a deft mastery over the medium.
Best Feature Film in Tamil	Nammavar	Producer: B. Venkatarama Reddy	₹ 20,000/-
		Director: K. S. Sethumadhavan	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For professionally assembled tale of a college professor who encounters student violence, marked by several impressive performances.

Best Feature Film in Each of the Language Other Than Those Specified in the Schedule VIII of the Constitution

Name of Award	Name of Film	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best Feature Film in English	English, August	Producer: Anuradha Parikh	₹ 20,000/-
		Director: Dev Benegal	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For adapting a complex and highly applauded novel with a cinematic skill and mastery matching the original work, a translation unusual in contemporary Indian cinema.

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.

Golden Lotus Award

Official Name: Swarna Kamal^[1]

All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.

Name of Award	Name of Film	Language	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best Non-Feature Film	Rasayatra	Hindi and English	Producer: Interaction Video Communication	₹ 20,000/- Each
			Director: Nandan Kudhyadi	₹ 15,000/- Each
	Citation: For its sensitive and imaginative transposition of music, into a dignified cinematic expression.

Silver Lotus Award

Official Name: Rajat Kamal^[1]

All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)' and cash prize.

Name of Award	Name of Film	Language	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best First Non-Feature Film	A Little War	Hindi	Producer: Film and Television Institute of India Director: Atanu Biswas	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For a restrained performances that its camera elicits.
Best Anthropological / Ethnographic Film	The Trapped	English	Producer: K. Jayachandran Director: O. K. Johnny	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For choosing to focus on the exploitation, past and present, of a small tribe, without platitudinous sentimentality.
Best Arts / Cultural Film	Painting in Time	English	Producer: Topshots Director: Sarbajit Sen	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For using play of light to enter the surface of a culture, unobtrusively, allowing it to reveal its magical metaphysics.
Best Scientific Film	Another Way of Learning	English	Producer: Comet Media Foundation Director: Chandita Mukherjee	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For being at once precise and warm in its approach to teaching processes.
Best Environment / Conservation / Preservation Film	Visuddha Vanangal	Malayalam	Producer: Kerala State Film Development Corporation Director: K. R. Mohanan	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For its analytical clarity and rigorous research in addressing a specific ecological issue.
Best Promotional Film	Blue Flames, Green Villages	English	Producer: National Afforestation and Eco-Development Board, Ministry of Environment and Forests Director: Ramesh Asher	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For its competent presentation of a rural project, within its given brief.
Best Historical Reconstruction / Compilation Film	Phalke Children	English	Producer: R. Krishna Mohan and Y. N. Engineer Director: Kamal Swaroop	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For the film which, while documenting the life and work of the subject, critiques the iconocising approach to history.
Best Film on Social Issues	Father, Son and Holy War (Part I – Trial by Fire, Part II – Hero Pharmacy)	Hindi and English	Producer: Anand Patwardhan Director: Anand Patwardhan	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For its conviction, courage and relentless observation, tempered by a sharp sense of irony.
Best Educational / Motivational / Instructional Film	News Magazine No. 268 (A) Plague – Curable and Preventable	Hindi	Producer: R. Krishna Mohan Director: Mahesh P. Sinha	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For its simple, direct and clear communication about the threat of plague.
Best Investigative Film	Father, Son and Holy War (Part I – Trial by Fire, Part II – Hero Pharmacy)	Hindi and English	Producer: Anand Patwardhan Director: Anand Patwardhan	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For probing beyond the objective, in its pursuit of insights, allowing even the unexpected to suggest the oblique.
Best Animation Film	Mahagiri	Hindi	Producer: Bhimsain Director: Kireet Animator: S. M. Hasan	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For its playful wit, its liveliness of line and indigenous idiom.
Best Short Fiction Film	Still Life	Hindi and English	Producer: Film and Television Institute of India Director: Subhadro Chowdhary	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For its stylistic sophistication in dealing with the chaos of painful experience.
Best Film on Family Welfare	Clint	Malayalam and English	Producer: Shiva Kumar Director: Shiva Kumar	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For setting up a new model of the essence of family welfare, through its honest documentation of factors impinging on a child's life.
Best Cinematography	Rasayatra	Hindi and English	Cameraman: Anoop Jotwani Laboratory Processing: Vijay Color Lab, Madras	₹ 10,000/- Each
	Citation: For his fastidious interpretation through lighting, and the fluidity of his camera operation.
Best Audiography	Another Way of Learning	English	Indrajit Neogi and A. M. Padmanabhan	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For together bringing about a quality of sound, which so enhances the acoustic, that the viewer becomes a participant.
Best Editing	Rasayatra	Hindi and English	Paresh Kamdar	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For the elegant pace with which he discovers spatial correlatives for the inherent musicality.
Best Music Direction	The Myth to the Tree, The Serpent and the Mother	Malayalam	K. P. Udayabhanu	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For his interesting juxtaposition of different strains of music and sound.
Special Jury Award	Games We Played in My Youth	English	Soumitra Sarkar	₹ 10,000/-
	Citation: For a refreshingly whimsical poem, which delights in the surprise of shifts and displacement.
Special Mention	Of Tagore and Cinema	English	Arun Kumar Roy	Certificate Only
	Citation: In acknowledgement of its archival value.
	The Story of Integration	English	Gautam Haldar
	Citation: In acknowledgement of his painstaking attempt to bring its subject to life.
	Ormaynde Theerangalil	Malayalam	Kaviyoor Sivaprasad
	Citation: In acknowledgement of his lyrical evocation of the passage of time.

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.

Golden Lotus Award

Official Name: Swarna Kamal^[1]

All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)' and cash prize.

Name of Award	Name of Book	Language	Awardee(s)	Cash Prize
Best Book on Cinema	Abhinayam Anubhavam	Malayalam	Author: Bharath Gopi Publisher: P. Bhuvanesan	₹ 15,000/- Each
	Citation: For his introspective and self-analytical first person account. Abhinayam Anubhavam is serious and wistful at times, as the actor weaves and interesting picture of his interaction with cinema and his colleagues in the medium. The book is as unusual as it is revealing
Best Film Critic		English	Rashmi Doraiswamy	₹ 15,000/-
	Citation: For her perceptive and in-depth analysis of wide-ranging issues related to cinema, both in India and aboard. Her writing is not only well researched and informative but also represents a convincing point of view.

Awards not given

Following were the awards not given as no film was found to be suitable for the award:^[1]

• Best Feature Film in Marathi
• Best Feature Film in Oriya
• Best Feature Film in Punjabi
• Best Feature Film in Telugu
• Best Non-Feature Film Direction
• Best Biographical Film
• Best Agricultural Film
• Best Exploration / Adventure Film

References

1. "42nd National Film Festival" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
2. "Dadasaheb Phalke Award Past Recipients". Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived from the original on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.

External links

• National Film Awards Archives
• Official Page for Directorate of Film Festivals, India