The National Awards for films released in the year 2019 were announced in New Delhi today.

Chhichhore, starring Sushant Singh Rajput who died last year, won Best Hindi Film.

KanganaRanaut won her fourth National Award – Best Actress for her work in the films Manikarnika and Panga.

The Best Actor award went to Manoj Bajpayeefor his performance in Bhonsle and Dhanush for Asuran which also won Best Tamil Film.

Sikkim was declared the most film-friendly state. Gumnaami, based on Netaji Subhash Bose, won Best Bengali Film and Best Adapted Screenplay. Jallikattu, the Oscar entry from India this year, won Best Cinematography.

Best Special Effects went to MarakkarArabikadalinteSimham (Malayalam).

B Praak won the Best Male Playback Singer for his song teriMitti from the film Kesari starring Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra.

Sikkim was awarded as the Most Film-Friendly State.

The awards were initially going to be held in May last year but were delayed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. The awards are given out by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation that comes under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.