| 20th National Film Awards | |
|---|---|
 20th National Film Awards | |
| Awarded for | Best of Indian cinema in 1972 |
| Awarded by | Ministry of Information and Broadcasting |
| Official website | dff.nic.in |
| Highlights | |
| Best Feature Film | Swayamvaram |
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award | Pankaj Kumar Mullick |
| Most awards | Swayamvaram (4) |
The20thNational Film Awards, presented byMinistry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best ofIndian Cinema released in the year 1972.[1]
With this year, new award category is introduced for the feature films made inMeitei language. This newly introduced category includesPresident's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Manipuri.[1]
Six different committees were formed based on the film making sectors in India, mainly based in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras along with the central committee for all India level. For 20th National Film Awards, central committee was headed byRomesh Thapar.[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.
| Name of Award | Image | Awardee(s) | Awarded As | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award |  | Pankaj Mullick | Music Director | ₹11,000, a shawl and a plaque |
Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 20th National Film Awards, aMalayalam filmSwayamvaram won thePresident's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film along with winning the maximum number of awards (four). Following were the awards given in each category:[1]
Following were the awards given:[1]
The awards were given to the best films made in theregional languages of India. For feature films inEnglish,Kashmiri,Oriya andPunjabi 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 Assamese | Upaja Sonar Maati | M/s Pragati Cine Productions | Brajen Barua |
| Best Feature Film in Bengali | Strir Patra | Dhrupadi | Purnendu Patri |
| Best Feature Film in Gujarati | Gun Sundarino Ghar Sansar | Ramesh H. Saraiya | Govind Saraiya |
| Jayant Malaviya | |||
| Chandulal Gandhi | |||
| Best Feature Film in Hindi | Maya Darpan | Kumar Shahani | Kumar Shahani |
| Best Feature Film in Kannada | Sharapanjara | C. S. Rajah | Puttanna Kanagal |
| Best Feature Film in Malayalam | Panitheeratha Veedu | K. S. R. Moorthy | K. S. Sethumadhavan |
| Best Feature Film in Manipuri | Matamgi Manipur | Karam Monomohan Singh | Deb Kumar Bose |
| Best Feature Film in Marathi | Pinjra | V. Shantaram | V. Shantaram |
| Best Feature Film in Tamil | Pattikada Pattanama | P. Madhavan | P. Madhavan |
| Best Feature Film in Telugu | Pandanti Kapuram | G. Hanumantha Rao | Lakshmi Deepak |
Following were the awards given:[1]
| Name of Award | Name of Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Information Film (Documentary) | The Inner Eye | English | Producer:Satyajit Ray | ₹5,000 and a medal |
| Director: Satyajit Ray | ||||
| Best Film on Social Documentation | Transcedence | English | Producer: Pramod PatilforFilms Division | ₹5,000 |
| Director: K. Vishwanathfor Films Division | ₹2,000 | |||
| Best Promotional Film (Commercial) | Destination India | English | Producer: Cinerad Communications | Silver Medal |
| Director: Zafar Hai | A plaque | |||
| Best Animation Film | You Said It | English | Producer:Prasad Productions | ₹5,000 |
| Director:Ram Mohan | ₹2,000 |
Following were the awards not given as no film was found to be suitable for the award:[1]