Nation's highest film honour conferred on Tapan Sinha

New Delhi, Sep 2 (UNI) The country's highest film honour 'Dadasaheb Phalke Award' was this evening given to legendary film maker Tapan Sinha by President Pratibha Devisingh Patil.

She also conferred the Life Time Achievement Awards on the legends of Indian Cinema--thespian Dilip Kumar and Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar--and B Saroja Devi at the 54th National Film Awards function.

Tapan Sinha, who earned international fame for his film 'Kabuliwalaa'(1956), is not keeping good health, and could not come to the capital to attend the function, so the award was received on his behalf by his son Anindya Sinha.

The Award for Lata Mangeshkar was accepted by her nephew Adinath Mangeshkar.

However, Dilip Kumar and veteran actress B Saroja Devi delighted their fans by turning up to receive the honour. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, a citation and a shawl.

The DadaSaheb Phalke Award, which is given by the Government for outstanding contribution in the field of Indian Cinema, carries a cash price of Rs 10 lakh, a Swaran Kamal and a shawl.

Tapan Sinha's works have won 19 National Film Awards in various categories apart from laurels in international film festivals. Some of his memorable films are Kabuliwala, Lauha Kapat, Apan Jon, Admi Aur Aurat, Sagina Mahto, Hate Bazare, Ek Doctor Ki Maut, Zindagi, Zindagi Khudhito Pashan (1960) and Adalat O Ekti Meye.

The Awards were presented in 31 different categories in the Feature Film Section and 22 categories in the Non-Feature Film Section. Three awards were given for the Best Writing on Cinema.

The Best Feature Film Award for the year 2006 was given to the Malayalam film ''Pulijanmam.'' The Award carries a Swarna Kamal and Rs 2,50,000 each for the producer and director of the film.

A Swarna Kamal and cash prize of Rs 2,00,000 each for the producer and the director for 'Best Popular Film providing wholesome entertainment' was given to Hindi film 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai'.

Nargis Dutt Award for the Best Feature Film on National Integration was presented for Kannada film 'Kallarli Huvagi'. The award carries Rajat Kamal and a cash prize of Rs 1,50,000 each for the producer and director of the film.

The Indira Gandhi Award for the Best First Film of a Director was shared by 'Eakantham' (Malayalam), directed by Madhu Kaithapuram, and 'Kabul Express' (Hindi), directed by Kabir Khan.

The award for the best film on social issues was given to the Telugu film, 'Hope'.

Mr Madhur Bhandarker received the Award for the Best direction for his film 'Traffic Signal' (Hindi) for weaving in the lives, livelihoods and concerns of the street dwellers in a metro and the inspiring stand that makes the protagonist a role model across society.

The Best Actor Award went to Soumitra Chatterjee for his role in 'Podokkhep' (Bengali) for etching the agonies and elations of an elderly person trying to keep peace with changing times. The Award for Best Actress was received by Priyamani for her role in Tamil film 'Paruthi Veeran'.

The award for the Best Child Artiste was given to Divya Chahadkar for her role in Konkani film 'Antarnad'.

Gurdas Mann received the Award for the Best Male Playback Singer and Aarti Anklekar Tikekar got the Best Female Playback singer award.

The Special Jury Award was given to director Vishal Bhardwaj for Omkara (Hindi).

The award for the best book on cinema was presented to Jerry Pinto for his book 'Helen: The Life and Times of an H Bomb' for an insightful and witty account of a marginal yet iconic persona of the Hindi cinema.

The award for the best film critic was received jointly by G P Ramachandran (Malayalam) and Rafique A R Baghdadi (English).

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