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26th National Film Awards

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26th National Film Awards
Awarded forBest of Indian cinema in 1978
Awarded byDirectorate of Film Festivals
Presented onApril 1979 (1979-04)
Official websitedff.nic.in
Highlights
Best Feature Filmnone awarded
Dadasaheb Phalke AwardRaichand Boral
Most awards • Gaman
 • Parasuram
 • Thampu (3)

The 26th 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 1978.[1] Ceremony took place in April 1979.

Juries

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Two different committees were formed for feature films and short films, headed by Chetan Anand and Kironmoy Raha respectively.[1]

Awards

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

Lifetime Achievement Award

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Name of Award Image Awardee(s) Awarded As Awards
Dadasaheb Phalke Award Raichand Boral Music director and Film director Swarna Kamal, 40,000 and a Shawl

Feature films

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Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 26th National Film Awards, no film was awarded the President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film. It is the only year for National Film Awards not to give away this award till now. A Hindi film Gaman, a Bengali film Parashuram and a Malayalam film Thampu won the maximum number of awards (three). Following were the awards given in each category:[1]

All India Award

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Following were the awards given:[1]

Name of Award Name of Film Language Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Best Feature Film with Mass Appeal, Wholesome Entertainment and Aesthetic Value Ganadevata Bengali Producer: Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, Government of West Bengal Swarna Kamal
Director: Tarun Majumdar Rajat Kamal
Citation: For brilliant picturisation of modern literary classic. Like the novel, film succeeds in capturing a whole era in transition. Steering clear of both commercial vulgarisation and pretentiousness, the film uses all the cinematic, to effectively communicate to the masses.
Best Feature Film on National Integration Grahana Kannada Producer: M/s. Harsha Pictures Rajat Kamal and 30,000
Director: T. S. Nagabharana Rajat Kamal and 10,000
Citation: For an honest and bold depiction of caste conflict in rural India. The film starkly brings out the traditional beliefs which grip the entire rural society including the down-trodden putting an extra chain on the poor in addition to their economic helplessness. Cinematically a very powerful film.
Best Children's Film Joi Baba Felunath Bengali Producer: R. D. Bansal Swarna Kamal and 15,000
Director: Satyajit Ray Rajat Kamal and 10,000
Citation: For the wit and craftsmanship used to synthesise a child's world of fantasy with an adult story of crime and detection.
Best Direction Thampu Malayalam G. Aravindan Rajat Kamal and 20,000
Citation: For creating a truly director's film which effectively brings out the pathos and ennui in the life of village circus artists and their audience.
Best Screenplay Grahana Kannada  • T. S. Ranga
 • T. S. Nagabharana
Rajat Kamal and 5,000 Each
Citation: For maintaining taunt narrative line without resorting to melodrama and retaining a firm grip on the central idea in an action packed film.
Best Actor Parasuram Bengali Arun Mukherjee Rajat Kamal and 10,000
Citation: For using mime, body language, laughter and silence to depict the central character in complete harmony with the overall style of the film.
Best Actress Nimajjanam Telugu Sharada Rajat Kamal and 10,000
Citation: For a highly restrained performance and a sensitive non-verbal communication.
Best Child Artist Ganadevata Bengali Kanchan De Biswas Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Citation: For being utterly himself.
Best Cinematography (Color) Junoon Hindi Govind Nihalani Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Citation: For eloquent camera work which is equally effective both in romantic passages and battle sequences. The camera faultlessly brings out all the colour hues in various locations and differing light conditions.
Best Cinematography (Black and White) Thampu Malayalam Shaji N. Karun Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Citation: For using the camera as a silent witness to the ironies of life. The reaction shots of circus audience taken unawares are in the best tradition of cinema-verite camera style.
Best Sound Recording Junoon Hindi Hitendra Ghosh Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Citation: For clarity, fidelity and precision in recording music, speech and sound effects.
Best Editing Parasuram Bengali Gangadhar Naskar Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Citation: For his bravura style of editing which is in complete harmony with the highly stylised treatment of the theme by the director.
Best Music Direction Gaman Hindi Jaidev Rajat Kamal and 10,000
Citation: For using the traditional light classical and folk music of U.P. to convey the nostalgia of rural migrants lost in a city. Music in Gaman is an integral part of the film.
Best Male Playback Singer Kaadu Kudre
("Kaadu Kudure Odi Banditta")
Kannada Shimoga Subbanna Rajat Kamal and 10,000
Citation: For rendering the theme song "Kaadu Kudure" in a style which is at once vigorous and lyrical.
Best Female Playback Singer Gaman
("Aap Ki Yaad Aati Rahi Raat Bhar")
Hindi Chhaya Ganguly Rajat Kamal and 10,000
Citation: For a hauting rendition of Makhdun Mohluddin's famous ghazal "Aap Ki Yaad Aati Rahi Raat Bhar". The chastity of style, the purity of enunciation and the freshness of voice contribute to make it into a memorable song.
Special Mention  • Parasuram
 • Gaman
 • Bengali
 • Hindi
 • Mrinal Sen (Director)
 • Muzaffar Ali (Director)
Certificate Only
Citation: For their sensitive treatment of the problem of rural migrants to cities.

Regional Award

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The awards were given to the best films made in the regional languages of India. For feature films in Bengali, English, Hindi, Kashmiri, Meitei and Punjabi, award for Best Feature Film was not given.[1]

Name of Award Name of Film Awardee(s) Awards
Best Feature Film in Bengali Dooratwa Producer: Buddhadeb Dasgupta Rajat Kamal and 10,000
Director: Buddhadeb Dasgupta Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Citation: For a sensitive depiction of a leftist middle class intellectual's marital conflict waiting for a revolution which does not materialise.
Best Feature Film in Hindi Kasturi Producer: Bimal Dutt Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Director: Bimal Dutt Rajat Kamal and 2,500
Citation: For a lyrical depiction of the elemental and eternal conflict between science and superstition.
Junoon Producer: Shashi Kapoor Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Director: Shyam Benegal Rajat Kamal and 2,500
Citation: For overall technical virtuousity and successful evocation of a bygone era.
Best Feature Film in Kannada Ondanondu Kaladalli Producer: L. N. Combines Rajat Kamal and 10,000
Director: Girish Karnad Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Citation: For delineating the code of warrior's ethics in a medieval setting with a modern vision. The film has excellent outdoor photography, high standard of acting and an eye-catching decor.
Best Feature Film in Malayalam Thampu Producer: K. Ravindran Nair Rajat Kamal and 10,000
Director: G. Aravindan Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Citation: For its cinematic virtousity and defiance of all narrative traditions of film making.
Best Feature Film in Telugu Nimajjanam Producer: M/s Red Rose Art Films Rajat Kamal and 10,000
Director: B. S. Narayana Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Citation: For a simple and restrained depiction of a dramatic theme, involving a woman's violation resulting in suicide.

Non-Feature films

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Following were the awards given:[1]

Short films

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Name of Award Name of Film Language Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Best Information Film Rumtek - A Monastery Wrethed In A Hundred Thousand Rainbows English Producer: Romesh Sharma Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Director: Romesh Sharma Rajat Kamal and 4,000
Citation: For an outstanding film in which all the elements are so perfectly blended to create an evocative and informative picture of the continuity of life at this beautiful monastery.
Best Educational / Instructional Film The Magic Hands English Producer: M/s Little Cinema Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Director: Santi P. Chowdhury Rajat Kamal and 4,000
Citation: For the controlled style of the filmmaker which lends special eloquence to the images of the faces and the hands as also the graceful bamboo they work with.
Best Promotional Film It Is Indian It Is Good Hindi Producer: Films Division Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Director: B. D. Garga Rajat Kamal and 4,000
Citation: For an excellent script and direction supported by smooth editing and camera work with music that is judiciously selected and sparingly used. The film provides an imaginative survey of the magnitude, variety and quality of India's export production.
Best Newsreel Cameraman Dawn Over Gurais (Indian News Review No. 1568) English C. L. Kaul Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Citation: For the lyrical realism of the camera with its perfectly matched tone and texture.
Best News Review Uttar Pradesh Samachar 24 Hindi Director of Information and Public Relations, U.P. Rajat Kamal and 5,000
Citation: For its genuine effort to make disturbing human document out of the chaos of a frequent natural calamity.
Special Mention The Burning Stone English Director: Loksen Lavnani for Films Division Certificate only
Citation: For the sincerity and commitment of the filmmaker in this stark and uncompromising film in which the raw truth is portrayed with no attempt to make it palatable.

Awards not given

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

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g "26th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
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