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Sunday, July 27, 2003, Chandigarh, India

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Devgan bags National Award for Bhagat Singh
Tribune News Service

(File photo) Konkona and Aparna Sen, who won the National Awards for Best Actress and Best Director for the film "Mr and Mrs Iyer." — PTI

New Delhi, July 26
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s mega budget film ‘Devdas’ and Aparna Sen’s film ‘Mr & Mrs Iyer’ emerged as the jury’s final choice for the best popular film of 2002 providing wholesome entertainment and the Nargis Dutt Award for the best feature film on national integration, respectively.

The 50th National Film Awards for 2002 were announced late today by the Chairpersons of the juries of feature films, non-feature films and best writing on cinema.

The Chairperson of the Feature Films Jury, Mr Prakash Jha, said ‘Devdas’ had bagged the award for its technical finesse and its modern interpretation of an enduring classic. Apart from glory, the award would fetch producer, Bharat C. Shah, and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali a cash prize of Rs 40,000, a Swarna Kamal and a citation each.

The 21-member jury for feature films has chosen the film ‘Mr & Mrs Iyer’ for the Nargis Dutt Award for the best feature film of 2002 on national integration for its humane depiction of the bonding between two individuals of different religious backgrounds in the midst of communal tension. Both producer N. Venkatesan and director Aparna Sen will get a Rajat Kamal, a cash prize of Rs 30,000 and a citation each.

Ajay Devgan has bagged the award for the best actor of 2002 for his role in ‘The Legend of Bhagat Singh’. The award carries a Rajat Kamal, a cash prize of Rs 10,000 and a citation. Raj Kumar Santoshi’s ‘The Legend of Bhagat Singh’ has bagged the award for the best feature film in Hindi.

Konkana Sen Sharma has won the award for the best actress for her strong and effective portrayal of a Tamil Brahmin woman in ‘Mr and Mrs Iyer’. The award carries a Rajat Kamal, a cash prize of Rs 10,000 and a citation.

Saroj Khan has won the award for best choreography of 2002 for the song ‘Dola re dola...’ in ‘Devdas’. The award carries a Rajat Kamal, a cash prize of Rs 10,000 and a citation. Shreya Ghosal has won the best female playback singer award for the song ‘Bairi Piya...’ for ‘Devdas’.

‘Devdas’ has also won awards for best art direction (Nitin Chandrakant Desai) and best costume design (Neeta Lulla, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla).

Rakhi has won the award for the best supporting actress for her role in ‘Shubho Muhurat’.

Shweta Prasad and Keertana will share the best child artiste award for their roles in Hindi film ‘Makdee’ and Tamil film ‘Kannathil Muthamittal’.

‘Meeting Manjit’ has bagged the award for the best biographical film. Directed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta, the film has been chosen for the award for its insight into the life of artist Manjit Bawa.

The award for the best book on cinema will be shared by ‘Parama and Other Outsiders — The Cinema of Aparna Sen’ (English) and ‘Ritu Aaye Ritu Jaaye’ (Hindi).

The jury for the best writing on cinema chaired by former Editor of Screen, Udaya Tara Nayar, has chosen Utpal Borpujari for the best cinema critic award for his sensitive analysis of a wide range of films.