2nd National Film Awards

Indian ceremony celebrating cinema of 1954

2nd National Film Awards

Awarded for| Best of Indian cinema in 1954
Awarded by| Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Presented by| Rajendra Prasad
(President of India)
Presented on| 21 December 1955 (1955-12-21)
Site| Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi
Official website| dff.nic.in
Highlights
Best Feature Film| Mirza Ghalib
Most awards|  • Mirza Ghalib
• Neelakuyil (2)

* <- 1st
* National Film Awards
* 3rd ->

The 2nd National Film Awards, then known as State Awards for Films, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1954.[1] Ceremony took place at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 21 December 1955 and awards were given by then President of India, Rajendra Prasad.

With the increasing number of films made in India, couple of new awards were introduced. Starting with 2nd National Film Awards, awards were divided into feature film and non-feature film awards. Feature films were, again, awarded at All India and Regional level. Awards were given to seven regional language films which are in Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu.

At All India level, Children's films were awarded with its own category where awards were categorised as Prime Minister's gold medal and Certificate of Merit. For all other categories, awards were given as President's gold medal and Certificate of Merit. Regional films were awarded with President's silver medal for Best Feature Film and Certificate of Merit. Non-feature film awards were awarded for documentaries made in the country.

## Juries

[edit]

Three different committees were formed based on the film making sectors in India, mainly based in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. Another committee for all India level was also formed which included some of the members from regional committee. For 2nd National Film Awards, central committee was headed by R. R. Diwakar.[1]

* Jury Members: Central
* R. R. Diwakar (Chairperson) • N. K. Siddhanta • T. M. Narayanaswami Pillai • M. D. Bhat • Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay • Satyavati Mallik • Syed Nurullah • S. S. Vasan • V. Shantaram • R. Subbarao • Ardhendu Mukerjee
* Jury Regional: Bombay
* M. D. Bhat (Chairperson) • Kusumavati Deshpande • M. R. Palande • Moti Chandra • Bhagwati Charan Verma • V. K. Gokak • Vijay Bhatt • Kishore Sahu • Jagdish Sethi
* Jury Regional: Calcutta
* N. K. Siddhanta (Chairperson) • Sabita Devi • Kalidas Nag • O. C. Ganguly • Sudhir Mukerjee • K. L. Chattarjee
* Jury Regional: Madras
* T. M. Narayanaswami Pillai (Chairperson) • Manjubhashini • Mu. Varadarajan • R. Subbarao • B. Ramakrishna Raju • Aiyapan • A. Ramaiah • K. Ramnath

## Awards

[edit]

Awards were divided into feature films and non-feature films.

President's gold medal for the All India Best Feature Film is now better known as National Film Award for Best Feature Film, whereas President's gold medal for the Best Documentary Film is analogous to today's National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film. For children's films, Prime Minister's gold medal is now given as National Film Award for Best Children's Film. At the regional level, President's silver medal for Best Feature Film is now given as National Film Award for Best Feature Film in a particular language. Certificate of Merit in all the categories is discontinued over the years.

### Feature films

[edit]

Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For the 2nd National Film Awards, in this category, Mirza Ghalib, a biographical Hindi / Urdu film, based on the life of well-known poet Mirza Ghalib, along with a Malayalam film, Neelakuyil won the maximum number of awards (two), with former also winning the President's gold medal for the All India Best Feature Film. Following were the awards given:[1]

#### All India Award

[edit]

For 2nd National Film Awards, none of the films were awarded from Children's films category as no film was found to be suitable.

Award  | Film  | Language  | Awardee(s)

|
|
|

Producer  | Director
President's gold medal for the All India Best Feature Film | Mirza Ghalib | Hindi | Minerva Moviestone  | Sohrab Modi
All India Certificate of Merit | Neelakuyil | Malayalam | Chandrathara Productions  | P. Bhaskaran
Ramu Kariat
Biraj Bahu | Hindi | Hiten Chaudhary Productions  | Bimal Roy

#### Regional Award

[edit]

The awards were given to the best films made in the regional languages of India. For 2nd National Film Awards, awards were given in seven regional language films which are in Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu.[1]

Award  | of Film  | Awardee(s)

|
|

Producer  | Director
Feature Films in Bengali
President's silver medal for Best Feature Film | Chheley Kaar | Charan Chitra  | Chitta Bose
Certificate of Merit  | Jadu Bhatta | Sunrise Film Distributors  | Niren Lahiri
Annapurnar Mandir | Chitra Mandir  | Naresh Mitra
Feature Films in Hindi
President's silver medal for Best Feature Film | Mirza Ghalib | Minerva Moviestone  | Sohrab Modi
Certificate of Merit  | Jagriti | Filmistan Ltd.  | Satyen Bose
Feature Films in Kannada
Certificate of Merit | Bedara Kannappa | Gubbi Karnataka Productions  | H. L. N. Simha
Feature Films in Malayalam
President's silver medal for Best Feature Film | Neelakuyil | Chandrathara Productions  | P. Bhaskaran
Ramu Kariat
Certificate of Merit  | Snehaseema | Associate Pictures  | Dakshina Murthy
Feature Films in Marathi
President's silver medal for Best Feature Film | Mahatma Phule | Atre Pictures  | Pralhad Keshav Atre
Feature Films in Tamil
President's silver medal for Best Feature Film | Malaikkallan | Pakshiraja Studios | S. M. Sriramulu Naidu
Certificate of Merit  | Andha Naal | AVM Productions | S. Balachander
Edhir Paradhathu | Saravanabhava and Unity Pictures  | C. H. Narayana Moorthy
Feature Films in Telugu
President's silver medal for Best Feature Film | Peddamanushulu | Vauhini Productions | K. V. Reddy
Certificate of Merit  | Thodu Dongalu | National Art Theatres  | D. Yoganand
Vipra Narayana | Bharani Pictures | P. S. Ramakrishna Rao

### Non-Feature films

[edit]

Non-feature film awards were given for the documentaries made in the country. Following were the awards given:[1]

#### Documentaries

[edit]

Award  | Film  | Language  | Awardee(s)

|
|
|

Producer  | Director
President's gold medal for the Best Documentary Film | Spirit of the Loom | English  | Films Division | V. R. Sarma
Certificate of Merit  | Darjeeling | English  | Films Division  | K. L. Khandpur
Golden River | English  | Films Division  | P. V. Pathy

### Awards not given

[edit]

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

* Prime Minister's gold medal for the Best Children's Film
* President's silver medal for Best Feature Film in Kannada

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f "2nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.

## External links

[edit]

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

* v
* t
* e

National Film Awards

* Directorate of Film Festivals
* Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
* Cinema of India

Lifetime Achievement|

* Dadasaheb Phalke Award

Feature Films|

| Golden Lotus Awards|

* Best Feature Film
* Best Direction
* Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment
* Best Children's Film
* Best Debut Film of a Director
* Best Film in AVGC (Best Animation Film)

|

Silver Lotus Awards|

* Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values
* Best Film in AVGC (Best Visual Effects)
* Best Actor in a Leading Role
* Best Actress in a Leading Role
* Best Actor in a Supporting Role
* Best Actress in a Supporting Role
* Best Child Artist
* Best Music Direction
* Best Male Playback Singer
* Best Female Playback Singer
* Best Lyrics
* Best Production Design
* Best Sound Design
* Best Choreography
* Best Cinematography
* Best Costume Design
* Best Editing
* Best Make-up
* Best Screenplay
* Best Stunt Choreography
* Special Mention

Silver Lotus Awards
(Regional)|

Languages specified in the Eighth schedule of the Constitution of India:

* Assamese
* Bengali
* Bodo
* Dogri
* Gujarati
* Hindi
* Kannada
* Kashmiri
* Konkani
* Malayalam
* Manipuri
* Marathi
* Maithili
* Odia
* Punjabi
* Sanskrit
* Tamil
* Telugu
* Urdu

Languages other than those specified in the Eighth schedule of the Constitution:

* Bhojpuri
* Garo
* Haryanvi
* Jasari
* Khasi
* Kodava
* Kokborok
* Ladakhi
* Mishing
* Mizo
* Monpa
* Pangchenpa
* Rabha
* Sherdukpen
* Tiwa
* Tulu
* Wancho

Discontinued Awards|

* Second Best Feature Film
* Third Best Feature Film
* Best Story
* Best Film Based on High Literary Work
* Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation
* Best Film on Family Welfare
* Best Film on National Integration
* Best Film on Other Social Issues
* Special Jury Award
* Best Animated Film
* Best Special Effects

Non-Feature Films|

| Golden Lotus Awards|

* Best Non-Feature Film
* Best Direction
* Best Debut Film of a Director

|

Silver Lotus Awards|

* Best Non Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values
* Best Documentary
* Best Arts / Cultural Film
* Best Biographical / Historical Reconstruction / Compilation Film
* Best Animation Film
* Best Short Film
* Best Script
* Best Sound Design
* Best Cinematography
* Best Editing
* Best Music Direction
* Best Narration / Voice Over
* Special Mention

Discontinued Awards|

* Best Experimental Film
* Best Industrial Film
* Best Agriculture Film
* Best Anthropological / Ethnographic Film
* Best Biographical Film
* Best Educational / Motivational / Instructional Film
* Best Environment/Conservation/Preservation Film
* Best Exploration / Adventure Film
* Best Film on Family Welfare
* Best Historical Reconstruction / Compilation Film
* Best Investigative Film
* Best Promotional Film
* Best Scientific Film
* Best Film on Social Issues
* Best Filmstrip
* Best News Review
* Best Newsreel Cameraman
* Special Jury Award

Writing on Cinema|

| Golden Lotus Awards|

* Best Book on Cinema
* Best Film Critic

|

Special Awards|

* Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Book on Cinema)
* Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Film Critic)

Awards by year|

| 1953–1960|

* 1953 (1st)
* 1954 (2nd)
* 1955 (3rd)
* 1956 (4th)
* 1957 (5th)
* 1958 (6th)
* 1959 (7th)
* 1960 (8th)

|

1961–1980|

* 1961 (9th)
* 1962 (10th)
* 1963 (11th)
* 1964 (12th)
* 1965 (13th)
* 1966 (14th)
* 1967 (15th)
* 1968 (16th)
* 1969 (17th)
* 1970 (18th)
* 1971 (19th)
* 1972 (20th)
* 1973 (21st)
* 1974 (22nd)
* 1975 (23rd)
* 1976 (24th)
* 1977 (25th)
* 1978 (26th)
* 1979 (27th)
* 1980 (28th)

1981–2000|

* 1981 (29th)
* 1982 (30th)
* 1983 (31st)
* 1984 (32nd)
* 1985 (33rd)
* 1986 (34th)
* 1987 (35th)
* 1988 (36th)
* 1989 (37th)
* 1990 (38th)
* 1991 (39th)
* 1992 (40th)
* 1993 (41st)
* 1994 (42nd)
* 1995 (43rd)
* 1996 (44th)
* 1997 (45th)
* 1998 (46th)
* 1999 (47th)
* 2000 (48th)

2001–2020|

* 2001 (49th)
* 2002 (50th)
* 2003 (51st)
* 2004 (52nd)
* 2005 (53rd)
* 2006 (54th)
* 2007 (55th)
* 2008 (56th)
* 2009 (57th)
* 2010 (58th)
* 2011 (59th)
* 2012 (60th)
* 2013 (61st)
* 2014 (62nd)
* 2015 (63rd)
* 2016 (64th)
* 2017 (65th)
* 2018 (66th)
* 2019 (67th)
* 2020 (68th)

2021–present|

* 2021 (69th)
* 2022 (70th)

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