Suriya shared this picture. (courtesy: actorsuriya)

New Delhi:

The 68th National Awards were announced on Friday evening in New Delhi. A 10-member panel led by filmmaker Vipul Shah submitted its report to the Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur recently. The 2020 film Soorarai Pottru swept five awards. While Suriya won the Best Actor award, his co-star Aparna Balamurali won the Best Actress award. However, Suriya shared the Best Actor award with Ajay Devgn for Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. Suriya issued a statement on social media expressing his gratitude to his well-wishers. He wrote: “My heartfelt thanks for all the love & good wishes that has reached us & enriched our lives so far. We are ecstatic with the Five National awards for Soorarai Pottru. The overwhelming reception for our film which was released directly on OTT during a pandemic, has made our eyes well up in joy. Our happiness is doubled at this National recognition for Soorarai Pottru, as it is a testimony of Sudha Kongara’s many years of hard work & creative vision of Captain Gopinath’s story.”

Soorarai Pottru is based on the life of Simplifly Deccan founder G Gopinath. Suriya congratulated director Sudha Kongara and his co-star Aparna Balamurali for winning the Best Screenplay and Best Actress awards, respectively. Even composer GV Prakash won a National Award in the Best Background Score category.

“My heartfelt congratulations for National award winners of our film – Aparna Balamurai (Best Actress), GV Prakash (Background Score). Sudha Kongara & Shalini Usha Nair (Best Screenplay). My sincere appreciation and gratitude to all the talents who stood by us during the making of this good film. The Best Film award is a great recognition for team 2D and I thank them along with my best friend & CEO Rajsekar Karpoorasundarapandian,” his statement read.

He gave a special mention to wife Jyotika who produced and acted in Soorarai Pottru. “My special thanks to my Jyotika, who insisted I should produce & act in Soorarai Pottru.” He dedicated the award to his kids and his family. “My love and “Thank You” to all those who have encouraged my efforts so far and to my Amma & Appa, Karthi & Brinda, who have supported me always. I dedicate this award to my kids Diya and Dev and to my loving family,” he wrote.

He also thanked his fans for the wishes and ended his note by writing, “The National Award gives me the motivation to work harder and walk the talk… and give you all good films, now & always. My sincere thanks to the Government of India and the National Awards Jury for this high recognition of our work.”

Take a look at Suriya’s statement below:

Overwhelmed!! #SooraraiPottrupic.twitter.com/fxGycj7h4Y

— Suriya Sivakumar (@Suriya_offl) July 22, 2022

After winning the Best Actor award with Suriya, Ajay Devgn was quoted by news agency PTI as saying, “I’m elated to win the Best Actor Award for Tanhaji-The Unsung Warrior at the 68th National Awards along with Suriya who won for Soorarai Pottru. I thank everyone, most of all my creative team, the audience and my fans. I also express my gratitude to my parents and the Almighty for their blessings. Congratulations to all the other winners.”

Suriya is celebrating his birthday today. After his name was announced on Friday, the actor began trending on Twitter with fans calling his win the “best birthday gift ever.”