National Film Awards 2018: President Kovind presents awards to Sridevi, Vinod Khanna, AR Rahman and 8 others

Amidst agitation among the 137 winners of the National Film Awards this year, the award function witnessed quite a lot of empty seats at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. This was an after effect of the news that President Ram Nath Kovind won't be presenting the National Award to all the 137 winners but only to select 11 of them. The winners were informed about the same just a day before the ceremony was to be held, i.e., on Wednesday. A majority of the awardees were not present at the National Film Awards 2018 ceremony, which began in the absence of President Kovind. Most of the awards were presented by Union Minister Smriti Irani, in the presence of Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. President Kovind made an appearance around 5:30 pm and presented the National Awards to Sridevi, Vinod Khanna, AR Rahman and 8 others, while the rest of the awards had already been presented by Irani. 

Late veteran actor Vinod Khanna was honoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for his immense contribution to Indian cinema. His wife Kavita Khanna and son Akshaye Khanna receieved the award from the President. 

Late veteran actress Sridevi was awarded for Best Actor (female) posthumously for her last film Mom. Boney Kapoor, along with daughters Janhvi and Khushi Kapoor received the award from the President of India. 

Music maestro AR Rahman received the National Awards for Best Music Director for the songs of the Tamil film Kaatru Veliyidai and for his heart rending background score in the film Mom, from President Kovind. 

Riddhi Sen was presented the National Award for Best Actor for his role in Bengali film Nagarkirtan. Best Direction National Award was bagged by the director of Malayalam film Bhayanakam, Jayaraj. The Best Feature Film Award was given to Assamese film Village Rockstars. 

Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind presents Dada Saheb Phalke Award to veteran actor Vinod Khanna (posthumously). The award was received by his wife Kavita Khanna and son Akshaye Khanna. #NationalFilmAwards pic.twitter.com/kSSYRYVCAX

— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2018

Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind presents National Award for best actor(female) to Sridevi (posthumously) for the movie 'MOM'. The award was received by her husband Boney Kapoor and daughters Janhvi and Khushi Kapoor #NationalFilmAwards pic.twitter.com/gyXphelRVn

— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2018

Music Maestro AR Rahman bags the award in Best Music Direction category for the songs in the Tamil movie Kaatru Veliyidai and the Background music in the Hindi movie Mom#NationalFilmAwards pic.twitter.com/1r8Dj6H0xO

— PIB India (@PIB_India) May 3, 2018

#PresidentKovind confers the Best Actress Award to Late Smt. Sridevi for the haunting portrayal of a mother whose daughter is gang raped in the movie Mom#NationalFilmAwards pic.twitter.com/IfP3iamyWi

— PIB India (@PIB_India) May 3, 2018

Riddhi Sen bags the Best Actor Award for the role displaying the complexities of a boy who changes his gender in the Bengali movie Nagarkirtan#NationalFilmAwards pic.twitter.com/pXk8icRHC6

— PIB India (@PIB_India) May 3, 2018

#PresidentKovind confers the Best Direction Award to Jayaraj, a 6 time recipient of the National Film Award, for the Malayalam movie Bhayanakam.#NationalFilmAwards pic.twitter.com/txOfAj1qaP

— PIB India (@PIB_India) May 3, 2018

And the Best Feature Film Award goes to the Assamese film Village Rockstars – a marvellous picturisation of a village girl who, with her vibrant spirit, achieves her dream of having her own rock band.#NationalFilmAwards pic.twitter.com/XWm3VFOGOg

— PIB India (@PIB_India) May 3, 2018

In his address to the winners, President Kovind stressed on the importance of cinema in terms of the number of people it employs and the purpose it serves by not just entertaining the masses but also by imparting valuable life-lessons. He said that in our country, films are made in a number of languages but one doesn't need any particular language to understand the medium of cinema. 

Watch this space for the full list of winners of the 65th National Film Awards.