| 15th National Film Awards | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Best of Indian cinema in 1967 |
| Awarded by | Ministry of Information and Broadcasting |
| Presented by | Zakir Husain (President of India) |
| Announced on | 31 October 1968 (1968-10-31) |
| Presented on | 25 November 1968 (1968-11-25) |
| Site | Vigyan Bhavan,New Delhi |
| Official website | dff.nic.in |
| Highlights | |
| Best Feature Film | Hatey Bazarey |
| Most awards | • Chiriyakhana • Hamraaz • Upkar (2) |
The15thNational Film Awards, presented byMinistry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best ofIndian Cinema released in 1967.[1][2] Ceremony took place atVigyan Bhavan,New Delhi on 25 November 1968 and awards were given by thenPresident of India,Zakir Husain.
With 15th National Film Awards, format of awards has been changed, which includes introduction of new awards and categorisation. Unlike earlier, films then categorised into feature films and short films. Feature films awards were continued with All India Awards and Regional Awards but couple of more awards were introduced at the all India level to honour artists and technicians.
Major awards introduced for feature films starting with 15th National Film Awards includes awards forBest Actor,Best Actress,Best Direction,Best Cinematography,Best Music Direction, Best Playback Singer of the Year andBest Screenplay.
Starting 15th National Film Awards, Short films had their own share of awards which introduced seven new awards for various types/genre of short films made in the country, includingBest Promotional Film,Best Educational / Instructional Film,Best Film on Social Documentation etc.
Certificate of Merit in all the categories is discontinued with 15th National Film Awards, which also led to discontinuation of second and third film/documentary, again in all the categories, exceptSecond Best Feature Film.
Six different committees were formed based on the film making sectors in India, mainly based inBombay,Calcutta andMadras along with the award categories. Another committee for all India level was also formed which included some of the members from regional committee. For 15th National Film Awards, central committee was headed byR. K. Nehru.[1]
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 asNational Film Award for Best Feature Film, whereas President's Gold Medal for the Best Documentary Film is analogous to today'sNational Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film. For children's films, Prime Minister's Gold Medal is now given asNational 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 were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 15th National Film Awards, aBengali filmHatey Bazarey won thePresident's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film, whereas aBengali filmChiriyakhana and twoHindi films,Hamraaz andUpkar won the maximum number of awards (two). Following were the awards given in each category:[1]
Following were the awards given:[1]
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Feature Film | Hatey Bazarey | Bengali | Producer: Asim Dutta | Gold Medal,₹20,000 and a plaque |
| Director:Tapan Sinha | ₹5,000 and a plaque | |||
| Second Best Feature Film | Upkar | Hindi | Producer: R. N. Goswami | ₹5,000 and a plaque |
| Director:Manoj Kumar | Silver Medal | |||
| Best Actor | Antony Firingee | Bengali | Uttam Kumar | A figurine |
| Chiriyakhana | ||||
| Best Actress | Raat Aur Din | Hindi | Nargis | A figurine |
| Best Cinematography (Black and White) | Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein | Hindi | Ramachandra | ₹5,000 and a plaque |
| Best Cinematography (Color) | Hamraaz | Hindi | M. N. Malhotra | ₹5,000 and a plaque |
| Best Direction | Chiriyakhana | Bengali | Satyajit Ray | ₹5,000 and a plaque |
| Best Music Direction | Kandan Karunai | Tamil | K. V. Mahadevan | ₹5,000 and a plaque |
| Best Playback Singer of the Year | Upkar (For the song "Mere Desh Ki Dharti") | Hindi | Mahendra Kapoor | A plaque |
| Best Screenplay | Agniputhri | Malayalam | S. L. Puram Sadanandan | ₹10,000 |
The awards were given to the best films made in theregional languages of India. For feature films inAssamese,English,Gujarati,Kashmiri andOriya language, President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film was not given. The producer and director of the film were awarded with₹5,000 and a Silver medal, respectively.[1]
| Award | Film | Awardee(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Producer | Director | ||
| Best Feature Film in Bengali | Arogya Niketan | Aurora Film Corp Pvt Ltd. | Bijoy Bose |
| Best Feature Film in Hindi | Hamraaz | B. R. Chopra | B. R. Chopra |
| Best Feature Film in Kannada | Bangarada Hoovu | B. A. Arasa Kumar | B. A. Arasa Kumar |
| Best Feature Film in Malayalam | Anveshichu Kandethiyilla | Ravi | P. Bhaskaran |
| Best Feature Film in Marathi | Santh Wahate Krishnamai | Sahakari Chitrapath Sanstha Ltd. | M. G. Pathak |
| Best Feature Film in Oriya | Arundhati | Dhiren Patnaik | Prafulla Sengupta |
| Best Feature Film in Punjabi | Sutlej De Kande | P. P. Maheshwary | P. P. Maheshwary |
| Best Feature Film in Tamil | Aalayam | M/s. Sunbeam, Madras | Thirumalai |
| Mahalingam | |||
| Best Feature Film in Telugu | Sudigundalu | Chakravarthi Chitra | Adurthi Subba Rao |
Following were the awards given:[1]
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Cash Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Information Film (Documentary) | India '67 | Music only | Producer: P. Sukhdev | ₹5,000 |
| Director: P. Sukhdev | ||||
| Best Educational / Instructional Film | Akbar | English | Producer: J. S. BhownagaryforFilms Division | ₹5,000 |
| Director: Shanti S. Varma | ₹2,000 | |||
| Best Film on Social Documentation | I am 20 | English | Producer: J. S. Bhownagaryfor Films Division | ₹5,000 |
| Producer: K. L. Khandpurfor Films Division | ||||
| Director: S. N. S. Sastry | ₹2,000 | |||
| Best Promotional Film (Commercial) | The Brown Diamond | English | Producer: M/s. Krishnaswamy Associates | Silver Medal |
| Director: S. Krishnaswamy | ||||
| Best Promotional Film (Non-Commercial) | Sandesh | Hindi | Producer: J. S. Bhownagaryfor Films Division | Silver Medal |
| Producer: K. L. Khandpurfor Films Division | ||||
| Director: Omprakash Sharma | ||||
| Best Experimental Film | Through The Eyes of a Painter | English | Producer: J. S. Bhownagaryfor Films Division | ₹5,000 |
| Creator:M. F. Husain | ₹2,000 | |||
| Best Animation Film | Inquiry | Music only | Producer: C. T. Baptista | ₹5,000 |
| Director: C. T. Baptista |
Following were the awards not given as no film was found to be suitable for the award:[1]