The award ceremony was held after two years due to the pandemic, and these awards, announced in March this year, were for films released in 2019.

Addressing the winners, Naidu said films should be vehicles to serve a higher purpose, as a carrier of social, moral and ethical messages. “Films should refrain from highlighting violence and should voice the society’s disapproval of social evils,” he said.

Rajinikanth said, “I dedicate this (award) to my guru, my mentor K Balachander sir. I thank my brother Sathyanarayana Rao – he is a father figure in my life – for giving me great values.” He also mentioned his “friend, driver and transport colleague, Raj Bahadur,” who, he said, “spotted the acting talent in me and encouraged me to join cinema. All my producers and directors, technicians, artists, distributors, media, and all my fans, and Tamil people.”

While Dhanush was awarded best actor for his performance in ‘Asuran’, Bajpayee won for ‘Bhosle’. Ranaut, was judged best actress for her performances in ‘Manikarnika’ and ‘Panga’.

Malalayam film ‘Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham’, directed by Priyadarshan, was adjudged the best film, while the award for best director went to Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan for Hindi film ‘Bahattar Hoorain’.