National Film Award for Best Debut Film of a Director (non-feature film)

The National Film Award for Best Debut Film of a Director 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 non-feature films and awarded with Golden Lotus (Swarna Kamal).

National Film Award for Best Debut Film of a Director
National award for contributions to non-feature films
Awarded for	Best debutant directorial work for a short film of a year
Sponsored by	National Film Development Corporation of India
Formerly called	National Film Award for Best First Non-Feature Film of a Director (1991–2021)
Reward(s)	Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) ₹3,00,00
First awarded	1991 (Instituted in 1989)
Last awarded	2022
Most recent winner	Basti Dinesh Shenoy
Highlights
Total awarded	29
First winner	Reena Mohan

The award was instituted in 1989, at 37th National Film Awards and awarded annually for films produced in the year across the country, in all Indian languages. Since the 70th National Film Awards, the name was changed to "Best Debut Film of a Director" and was changed the status from Silver Lotus to Golden Lotus.^[1] Also, the director is alone eligible for the award since this edition.

Winners

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

Indicates a joint award for that year

List of award recipients, showing the year, film(s), language(s), producer(s), director(s) and citation
Year	Film(s)	Language(s)	Producer(s)	Director(s)	Citation	Refs.
1991 (39th)	Kamlabai	• Marathi  • Hindi	Reena Mohan	Reena Mohan	The director has presented a sensitive and heartwarming portrait of a remarkable woman who was the first lady of the Indian screen and a versatile stage actress.	[2]
1992 (40th)	Knock-Out	Tamil	B. Lenin	B. Lenin	The director has given us a powerful insight into the labyrinth of the human mind faced with a disaster situation.	[3]
1993 (41st)	Bazar Sitaram	Hindi	Neena Gupta for Films Division	Neena Gupta	For presenting a delicate and sensitive portrayal of the culture, traditions and milieu of Old Delhi as a personalised experience.	[4]
1994 (42nd)	A Little War	Hindi	FTII	Atanu Biswas	For a restrained performances that its camera elicits.	[5]
1995 (43rd)	All Alone If Need Be	English	Amulya Kakati	Ranjit Das	For a sensitive portrayal of Shri Sarat Chandra Sinha, simple upright man of principles with uncompromising integrity and human qualities both in his personal and public life.	[6]
1996 (44th)	Yeh Woh Sahar To Nahin	Hindi	FTII	Sudhakar Rao	For its imaginative use of sound and visuals to capture the undercurrents of human response to outer tensions.	[7]
1997 (45th)	Mizhavu – A Silent Drum Beat	English	P. D. Raphel	K. R. Subhash	For its total and absorbing cinematic presentation of a unique and little-known percussion instrument.	[8]
1998 (46th)	Repentance	Malayalam	Mohan Agashe for Films Division	Rajeev Raj	For exploring new forms of cinematic expression and images.	[9]
1999 (47th)	Deivangal Padiyirangumbol (When Gods Depart)	Tamil	Pradeep Kumar	Pradeep Kumar	For its objective and well-researched point of view on the lives of tribes in the Wayanad region; it captures their fragile existence cause in the process of change.	[10]
2000 (48th)	Meena Jha	Hindi	Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute	Anjalika Sharma	For its innovative approach in narrating a story of adolescent human experiences, treated in a stylised manner.	[11]
2001 (49th)	Diary of a Housewife	Malayalam	• Asha Joseph  • Vinod Sukumaran	Vinod Sukumaran	For the innovative approach in narrating the pathos of a housewife who is waiting for her husband to return from war.	[12]
2002 (50th)	Paramapatham	Tamil	Film and Television Institute of Tamil Nadu	Prabhu Radhakrishnan	For displaying a mature control of film form and weaves a taught, powerful and short narrative fiction to tell the story of a sculptor as the unanswered questions of his life unfold.	[13]
	Beyond or Within	English	P. T. M. Payyoli	Vinod Mankara	For its balanced exploration through an informative documentary on the ancient occult science and practice of the controversial Mantravada.
2003 (51st)	An Encounter with a Life Living	• Hindi  • English	Vinu Abraham	Suja	For depicting the plight of a physically incapacitated Sarasu and her cheerful will to live. The director achieves this bringing out the totality, spiritual richness of a "life lived only in the mind" – through an innovative narrative idiom.	[14]
2004 (52nd)	Ek Sagar Kinaree... A Seaside Story	• Marathi  • English	Gomantak Marathi Academy	Laxmikant Shetgaonkar	For handling the simple and delicate relationship between ordinary human beings in a very profound evocative and enterprising manner, within a commercialised compulsive atmosphere.	[15]
2005 (53rd)	John and Jane	English	Ashim Ahluwalia	Ashim Ahluwalia	For an evocative film capturing the essence of call centres in urban India, its pressures and the dualities of life in this new reality.	[16]
2006 (54th)	Andhiyum	Malayalam	N. Dinesh Rajkumar	Jacob Varghese	For displaying command over the medium that goes far beyond the level expected from a first film.	[17]
2007 (55th)	Lal Juto	Bengali	Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute	Shweta Merchant	For its conventional handling of a renowned literary text. The element of surprise is presented in an effortless manner, spontaneous and full of miraculous madness.	[18]
2008 (56th)	Vitthal	Marathi	• Vinoo Choliparambil  • Manu Pushpendran	Vinoo Choliparambil	For a sensitive portrayal of the latent violence building up in a child against the ritualistic social norms which are forced on him. The filmmaker demonstrates maturity and dexterity in handling the script and the actors, bringing out the complexity of a child’s mind trapped in a world of adults.	[19]
2009 (57th)	Vaishnav Jan Toh	Hindi	FTII	Kaushal Oza	For sensitive handling of a thought provoking film that reflects the strength of nonviolence and Gandhian values – so relevant even today.	[20]
	Ekti Kaktaliyo Golpo	Bengali	FTII	Tathagata Singha	For a promising debut showing imagination and flair to weave a tale of fantasy.
2010 (58th)	Pistulya	• Marathi  • Telugu	Nagraj Manjule	Nagraj Manjule	For a delightful exposition of the poignant life of a poverty-stricken child, who nurtures a dream of embracing the source of learning through education, with simplicity and fluency. The director portrays the spirit of adventure of the child, through fine performances.	[21]
2011 (59th)	The Silent Poet	Meitei	Borun Thokchom	Borun Thokchom	For depicting in his very first film in a simple yet poignant cinematic language the struggle and dilemma faced by ordinary citizens in North east India through the evocative poetry of Irom Sharmila the icon of non-violent resistance.	[22]
2012 (60th)	Eka Gachha Eka Manisa Eka Samudra	Oriya	Veenu Bhushan Vaid	Lipika Singh Darai	For its gentle and strongly evocative recalling of the memory of a childhood music teacher, expressed without nostalgia, communicating a deep loving respect in a form that is poetic and intimate, with an unassuming confidence remarkable for a first film.	[23]
2013 (61st)	Kanyaka	Malayalam	Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute	Christo Tomy	For its wholly convincing mise-en-scene set in a convent run by Malayali nuns, wherein the grief and guilt of the young protagonist is presented in a manner that leaves a lot to the imagination of the viewer.	[24]
2014 (62nd)	Goonga Pehelwan		Drishti Media	• Mit Jani  • Prateek Gupta  • Vivek Chaudhary	For its fun, yet mature portrayal of its protagonist, a champion at the Deaf Olympics. It pointedly questions the politics that impede this capable athlete’s route to the Rio Olympics.	[25]
2015 (63rd)	Daaravtha	Marathi	Nishantroy Bombarde	Nishantroy Bombarde	A stepping stone towards reinventing the age old shackles of society.	[26]
2016 (64th)	Soz...A Ballad of Maladies		Rajiv Mehrotra	Tushar Madhav	A Brave And Refreshing Approach To Look at Complex Political Issues Weaved Beautifully Through Music And Poetry.	[27]
2017 (65th)	Water Baby		Varun Shah	Pia Shah	A sensitive portrayal of adolescent fears and aspirations, displaying promising directorial talent.
2018 (66th)	Feluda: 50 Years of Ray's Detective		Sagnik Chatterjee	Sagnik Chatterjee	For springing to life and celebrating Satyajit Ray's most popular fictional character, with depth and aesthetic, across varied media.

References

1. Under Secretary to the Government of India (14 December 2023). "Report on Rationalization of Awards Conferred by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting | Ministry of Information and Broadcasting | Government of India". Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
2. "39th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
3. "40th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
4. "41st National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
5. "42nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
6. "43rd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
7. "44th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
8. "45th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
9. "46th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
10. "47th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
11. "48th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
12. "49th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
13. "50th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
14. "51st National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
15. "52nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
16. "53rd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
17. "54th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
18. "55th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
19. "56th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
20. "57th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
21. "58th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
22. "59th National Film Awards for the Year 2011 Announced". Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
23. "60th National Film Awards Announced" (PDF) (Press release). Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
24. "61st National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
25. "62nd National Film Awards" (PDF) (Press release). Directorate of Film Festivals. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
26. "63rd National Film Awards" (PDF) (Press release). Directorate of Film Festivals. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
27. "64th National Film Awards" (PDF) (Press release). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.

External links

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