It was a proud moment for Telugu cinema as several prominent personalities received the 72nd National Film Awards from President Droupadi Murmu at a ceremony held in Gujarat on Tuesday evening.
Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD, starring Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan and Kamal Haasan, won the National Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. The film’s production designer Nitin Zihani also received the award for Best Production Design.
Director Nag Ashwin, producer Swapna Dutt and veteran producer C. Ashwini Dutt attended the ceremony to receive the honours for the sci-fi epic.
Vyjayanthi Movies expressed its happiness over the recognition, describing the National Award as a proud moment for everyone associated with the film. The production house said it was particularly gratifying to see an ambitious vision such as Kalki 2898 AD receive national recognition.
The makers also credited the achievement to the collective efforts of the film’s cast and crew, whose dedication and creativity helped bring the film’s expansive futuristic world to life and connect with audiences.
Director Sukumar was another major Telugu recipient at the ceremony. He won the Best Screenplay award for Pushpa: The Rise.
Other Telugu winners included Niharika Konidela, whose production Committee Kurrollu was named Best Telugu Film, and Venky Atluri, who won Best Screenplay for Lucky Baskhar. Nitin Zihani was recognised for Best Production Design for Kalki 2898 AD.
Producer and former National Film Award jury member Raj Kandukuri said the recognition was an important moment for the Telugu film industry and could inspire more filmmakers to aim for excellence in mainstream cinema.
“It’s a proud moment for Tollywood. The efforts put in by filmmakers and technicians over the years are being recognised, and this can inspire many more filmmakers. Even the presentation ceremony itself can inspire filmmakers,” he said.
Kandukuri also argued that commercial cinema deserves greater recognition at national award platforms, given the scale of investment and employment generated by large productions.
“Commercial cinema also deserves awards because producers spend Rs 150-200 crore on a film and provide employment to thousands of workers. Critical acclaim and awards should not be restricted only to offbeat or small films. Mainstream cinema can also have artistic and technical merit,” he added.
