National Film Award for Best Bengali Feature Film

The National Film Award for Best Bengali Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus). Since the 70th National Film Awards, the name was changed to "Best Bengali Feature Film".^[1]

National Film Award for Best Bengali Feature Film
National award for contributions to Indian Cinema
Awarded for	Best Bengali Feature Film(s) of the year
Sponsored by	National Film Development Corporation of India
Formerly called	President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Bengali (1954–1968) National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali (1969–2021)
Reward(s)	Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus) ₹2,00,000
First awarded	1954
Last awarded	2022
Most recent winner	Kaberi Antardhan
Highlights
Total awarded	87
First winner	Chheley Kaar

The National Film Awards, established in 1954, are the most prominent film awards in India that merit the best of the Indian cinema. The ceremony also presents awards for films in various regional languages.

Awards for films in seven regional language (Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu) started from 2nd National Film Awards which were presented on 21 December 1955. Three awards of "President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film", "Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Feature Film" and "Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film" were instituted. The later two certificate awards were discontinued from 15th National Film Awards (1967).

Directed by Chitta Bose, the 1954 film Chheley Kaar was honoured with the first president's silver medal for Best Feature Film in Bengali. Certificate of Merit for Second and Third Best Feature Films in Bengali were received by Jadubhatta and Annapurnar Mandir respectively. Following is the list of Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal) recipient films produced in Bengali language.

Winners

Award includes 'Rajat Kamal' (Silver Lotus Award) and cash prize. Following are the award winners over the years:

Awards legends
*	President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film
*	Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Feature Film
*	Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film
*	Certificate of Merit for the Best Feature Film
*	Indicates a joint award for that year

List of award films, showing the year (award ceremony), producer(s), director(s) and citation
Year	Film(s)	Producer(s)	Director(s)	Citation	Refs.
1954 (2nd)	Chheley Kaar	Charan Chitra	Chitta Bose	–	[2]
	Jadu Bhatta	Sunrise Film Distributors	Niren Lahiri	–
	Annapurnar Mandir	Chitra Mandir	Naresh Mitra	–
1955 (3rd)	Pather Panchali	Government of West Bengal	Satyajit Ray	–	[3]
	Rani Rashmoni	Chalachitra Pratishthan	Kali Prasad Ghosh	–
	Rai Kamal	Aurora Film Corporation	Subodh Mitra	–
1956 (4th)	Kabuliwala	Charuchitra	Tapan Sinha	–	[4]
	Mahakavi Girishchandra	Emkeji Productions	Madhu Bose	–
	Ek Din Ratre	R. K. Films	• Sombhu Mitra  • Amit Maitra	–
1957 (5th)	Andhare Alo	Sreemati Pictures	Haridas Bhattacharya	–	[5]
	Louha-Kapat	L. B. Films International	Tapan Sinha	–
	Harano Sur	Alochaya Productions	Ajoy Kar	–
1958 (6th)	Sagar Sangamey	De Luxe Film Distributors Ltd.	Debaki Bose	–	[6]
	Jalsaghar	Aurora Film Corporation	Satyajit Ray	–
	Daak Harkara	Agragami Productions	Agragami	–
1959 (7th)	Bicharak	Arundhati Mukherjee	Prabhat Mukherjee	–	[7]
1960 (8th)	Devi	Satyajit Ray	Satyajit Ray	–	[8]
	Ganga	Cine Art Production Pvt Ltd.	Rajen Tarafdar	–
1961 (9th)	Samapti	Satyajit Ray	Satyajit Ray	–	[9]
	Saptapadi	Uttam Kumar	Ajoy Kar	–
	Punascha	Mrinal Sen	Mrinal Sen	–
1962 (10th)	Kancher Swarga	Prokash Chandra Nan	Yatrik	–	[10]
	Nishithe	Agragami Productions	Agragami	–
1963 (11th)	Uttar Falguni	Uttam Kumar	Asit Sen	–	[11]
	Saat Paake Bandha	R. D. Bansal	Ajoy Kar	–
	Jatu Griha	Uttam Kumar	Tapan Sinha	–
1964 (12th)	Aarohi	Asim Pal	Tapan Sinha	–	[12]
	Anustup Chhanda	B. K. Productions	Pijush Bose	–
1965 (13th)	Akash Kusum	Ranjit Basu	Mrinal Sen	–	[13]
	Subarnarekha	Radheshyam	Ritwik Ghatak	–
	Raja Rammohun	Aurora Film Corporation	Bijoy Basu	–
1966 (14th)	Nayak	• R. D. Banshal  • Sharankumari Bansal	Satyajit Ray	–
1967 (15th)	Arogya Niketan	Aurora Film Corporation	Bijoy Bose	–	[14]
1968 (16th)	Apanjan	• R. N. Malhotra  • R. K. Kapur  • T. M. Shah	Tapan Sinha	–	[15]
1969 (17th)	Natun Pata	M/s Gora Pictures	Dinen Gupta	–	[16]
1970 (18th)	Malyadan	• Ajoy Kar  • Bimal Dey	Ajoy Kar	–	[17]
1971 (19th)	Nimantran		Tarun Majumdar	–
1972 (20th)	Strir Patra	Dhrupadi	Purnendu Patri	–	[18]
1973 (21st)	Ashani Sanket	Sarbeni Bhattacharya	Satyajit Ray	–	[19]
1974 (22nd)	Sonar Kella	Information and Public Relations Department, Government of West Bengal	Satyajit Ray	–	[20]
1975 (23rd)	Palanka	M/s. Filmarts, Calcutta	Rajen Tarafdar	–	[21]
1976 (24th)	Ek Je Chillo Desh	–	Tapan Sinha	–	[22][23]
1977 (25th)	No Award				[24]
1978 (26th)	Dooratwa	Buddhadeb Dasgupta	Buddhadeb Dasgupta	For a sensitive depiction of a leftist middle class intellectual's marital conflict waiting for a revolution which does not materialise.	[25]
1979 (27th)	Ek Din Pratidin	Amalendu Chakraborty	Mrinal Sen	–	[26][27]
1980 (28th)	Hirak Rajar Deshe	• Information & Cultural Affairs Department  • Government of West Bengal	Satyajit Ray	For an allegorical representation of the victory of good over evil, embellished by superb acting and haunting music.	[28]
1981 (29th)	Adalat o Ekti Meye	Dhiresh Kumar Chakraborty	Tapan Sinha	For its powerful presentation of the problems of rape and its shattering after-effects in the life of a woman.	[29]
1982 (30th)	Nagmoti	Sibaprasad Sen	Gautam Chattopadhyay	For its absorbing portrayal of an ethnic group.	[30]
1983 (31st)	Vasundhra	Sanjukta Films	Sekhar Chatterjee	For its sincere attempt to depict the struggle against social injustice.	[31]
1984 (32nd)	Ghare Baire	NFDC	Satyajit Ray	–	[32]
1985 (33rd)	Paroma	• Nirmal Kumar Guha  • Niharendu Guha  • Sukhendu Guha  • Sarojendu Guha	Aparna Sen	For a film which handles sensitively the delicate story of a woman who refuses to accept the feeling of guilt forced on her by society.	[33]
1986 (34th)	Phera	Buddhadeb Dasgupta	Buddhadeb Dasgupta	For its depiction of dilemma of a creative artiste in a world of changing values.	[34]
1987 (35th)	Antarjali Jatra	NFDC	Gautam Ghose	For creating through an event of the early 19th century a universal parable of exploitation, life and death with an underlying faith in the inevitability of change.	[35]
1988 (36th)	No Award				[36]
1989 (37th)	Ganashatru	NFDC	Satyajit Ray	For its brilliant adaptation of Ibsen's "An Enemy of the People" to highlight the dangers of current revivalism.	[37]
1990 (38th)	Atmaja	Raj Kumar Jain	Nabyendu Chatterjee	For its masterly depiction of a mother's quest, torn between the hollowness of wealth and the transcendence of human values.	[38]
1991 (39th)	Antardhan	• Nabakumar Chandra  • Swapan Kumar Mitra  • Sucheta Mitra	Tapan Sinha	For the manner in which the suspense is built and sustained throughout the film.	[39]
1992 (40th)	Tahader Katha	NFDC	Buddhadeb Dasgupta	For its most unusual and daring treatment of a very real socio-political issue in a metaphoric manner – the alienation of a freedom fighter from his country, now changed beyond recognition.	[40]
1993 (41st)	Antareen	• NFDC  • Doordarshan	Mrinal Sen	For a sensitive exploration of modern man's loneliness and the failure of human communication in a dehumanised civilization.	[41]
1994 (42nd)	Amodini	• NFDC  • Doordarshan	Chidananda Dasgupta	For a stylised and innovative period rendition of complex social relations in 18th century Bengal, integrating performances with camera movements and mise en scene.	[42]
1995 (43rd)	Yugant	NFDC	Aparna Sen	For its contemporary form and thematic content, and subtle handling of the complex subject of a broken marriage. The film has universal appeal which has great relevance in today's society.	[43]
1996 (44th)	Sanghat	Pinaki Chaudhuri	Pinaki Chaudhuri	For effectively bringing out the trials and tribulations faced by working women in contemporary society.	[44]
1997 (45th)	Dahan	• Bijay Agarwal  • Kalpana Agarwal	Rituparno Ghosh	For the way in which film portrays two young women who undergo the agony of discovering the harsh realities of their situation and society.	[45]
1998 (46th)	Asukh	D. Ramanaidu	Rituparno Ghosh	For profiling the dilemma of a film actress, at a delicate point in her life. Rejected by her lover in love with another woman, asukh is an internalised study of an actress coming to terms with multiple pressures in her life.	[46]
1999 (47th)	Paromitar Ek Din	Rajesh Agarwal	Aparna Sen	For depicting the changing temper of society and the changing balances of human relationships very sensitively portrayed. The film highlights the changing equations between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, who begin as adversaries and become confidantes.	[47]
2000 (48th)	Dekha	Ramesh Gandhi	Gautam Ghose	The film through the seen and unseen world of the protagonist tries to explore the existential dilemma of modern times which is reflected in the inexorable flow of time and intertwined into a mixed metaphor of modern allegories.	[48]
2001 (49th)	Hemanter Pakhi	NFDC	Urmi Chakraborty	For showing the plight of an educated woman who seeks her own identity within the trappings of her traditional role of mother & wife. A contemporary socially relevant issue has been handled with great sensitivity.	[49]
2002 (50th)	Shubho Mahurat	Jagannath Productions	Rituparno Ghosh	For its intelligent handling of characters in a detective story.	[50]
2003 (51st)	Chokher Bali	• Shrikant Mohta  • Mahendra Soni	Rituparno Ghosh	For its operatic play of passions, breaking social norms and taboos.	[51]
2004 (52nd)	Krantikaal	Shampa Bhattacharjee	Shekhar Das	For dialectical portrayal of a terrorist’s critical encounter with a decadent Bengali royal culture trapped in a time wrap.	[52]
2005 (53rd)	Herbert	• Kajal Bhattacharjee  • Abanti Chakraborty	Suman Mukhopadhyay	For a refreshingly cinematic idiom as the protagonist of this urban existential tragicomedy veers between the real and the surreal.	[53]
2006 (54th)	Anuranan	• Jeet Banerjee  • Indrani Mukerjee  • Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury	Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury	For sensitively exploring nuances in relationships.	[54]
	Podokkhep	Nitesh Sharma	Suman Ghosh	For a convincing depiction of an old man coping with loneliness.
2007 (55th)	Ballygunge Court	Ganesh Kumar Bagaria	Pinaki Chaudhuri	For providing a powerful commentary on the travails of ageing in an urban milieu.	[55]
2008 (56th)	Shob Charitro Kalponik	Reliance Entertainment	Rituparno Ghosh	For its poetic treatment of an individual's sensitivities in a crisis.	[56]
2009 (57th)	Abohomaan	Reliance Entertainment	Rituparno Ghosh	For sheer artistry that blends form and content of a provocative subject.	[57]
2010 (58th)	Ami Aadu	New Theatres Pvt. Ltd	Somnath Gupta	For the subtle portrayal of an endearing love story in the time of cultural conflicts. It is a sincere attempt to present the personal tragedy of the emigrant commoner caught in the crossfire of international wars.	[58]
2011 (59th)	Ranjana Ami Ar Ashbona	Rana Sarkar	Anjan Dutt	For presents pop music as a force that drives, destroys and binds relationships. The film's character's carry forward this one passion in life as in death. Through the film's visual texture and locales, we not only see the world of the protagonist Abani Sem, we also enter his psyche. Anjan Dutt's bitter–sweet work portrays in vivid colours the pop music scene in Bengal today, as well as the on-the-edge lives lived by its practitioners.	[59]
2012 (60th)	Shabdo	Brand Value Communications Ltd.	Kaushik Ganguly	A brilliantly conceived off-beat film on the obsession with ambient sound and its devastating effects on the life of a foleyartist, is a unique cinematic experience.	[60]
2013 (61st)	Bakita Byaktigato	Tripod Entertainment Pvt Ltd.	Pradipta Bhattacharyya	A delightful film about the need for love in our cynical times.	[61]
2014 (62nd)	Nirbashito	Kaushik Ganguly Productions	Churni Ganguly	For its poignant articulation of the suffocation one experiences when exiled in a land that is not one's own, as a price that is paid for asserting one's right to freedom of expression.	[62]
2015 (63rd)	Shankhachil	Nideas Creations & Productions	Goutam Ghose	An evocative story that highlights the theme of suffering humanity, divided by national borders.	[63]
2016 (64th)	Bishorjan	M/s Opera	Kaushik Ganguly	A visual poem which effortlessly liquidates geographical boundaries with an eraser made of love and hope.	[64]
2017 (65th)	Mayurakshi	• Firdausul Hasan  • Prabal Halder	Atanu Ghosh
2018 (66th)	Ek Je Chhilo Raja	Shree Venkatesh Films	Srijit Mukherji	Based on a true story, the film traces the journey of a Maharaja through his quest for identity.	[65][66]
2019 (67th)	Gumnaami	Shree Venkatesh Films	Srijit Mukherji	Intricately woven screenplay of the investigation of mystery behind the death of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.	[67]
2020 (68th)	Avijatrik	GMB Films Pvt.Ltd	Subhrajit Mitra	This is a sequel to the classic "Apu trilogy" which was directed by Satyajit Ray.	[68]
2021 (69th)	Kalkokkho	Aurora Film Corporation	• Sarmistha Maiti  • Rajdeep Paul		[69]
2022 (70th)	Kaberi Antardhan	Surinder Films	Kaushik Ganguly		[70]

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External links

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