Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director

Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director
Awarded by Directorate of Film Festivals
Type	National
Category	Indian Cinema
Description
Description	Best debutant directorial work of a year
Medal	Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus)
Statistics
Instituted	1980
First awarded	1980
Last awarded	2015
Total awarded	40
Cash award	₹125,000 (US$1,900)
Previous name(s)	• Award for Best First Film of a Director (1980–83)  • Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of A Director (2010–present)
First awardee(s)	Maina Tadanta
Recent awardee(s)	Masaan

The Indira Gandhi Award for Best First Film of a Director is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Golden Lotus (Swarna Kamal).

The award was instituted in 1980, at 28th National Film Awards^[1] and awarded annually for films produced in the year across the country, in all Indian languages.

Award includes 'Golden Lotus Award' (Swarna Kamal) and cash prize. Award, sometimes, also be given as Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of A Director. Following are the award winners over the years:

Winners

Indicates a joint award for that year

List of award films, showing the year (award ceremony), language(s), producer(s), director(s) and citation
Year	Film(s)	Language(s)	Producer(s)	Director(s)	Citation	Refs.
1980 (28th)	Maina Tadanta	Bengali	–	Utpalendu Chakrabarty	For depicting with realistic vigor the exploitation perpetrated on the tribal and the landless, for portraying the spirited fight of the downtrodden and for showing great maturity in the conception and presentation of the theme in this maiden venture.	[1]
1981 (29th)	Aadharshila	Hindi	–	Ashok Ahuja	For making a bold statement on the aspirations and frustrations of the young generation of film-makers he himself represents and for a very sensitive treatment of the relationship between an idealist director and an inscrutable story-write.	[2]
1982 (30th)	Kann Sivanthaal Mann Sivakkum	Tamil	–	Sreedhar Rajan	For its original interpretation of a deep-rooted social evil, combining folk art with modern cinematic idiom.	[3]
1983 (31st)	Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro	Hindi	–	Kundan Shah	For its treatment of contemporary theme with wit and humour.	[4]
1984 (32nd)	Meendum Oru Kaathal Kathai	Tamil	Radhika Pothan	Prathap K. Pothan	–	[5]
1985 (33rd)	New Delhi Times	Hindi	P. K. Tiwari	Romesh Sharma	For a bold exposure of a murky world of politics where murder and mayhem are engineered for personal gains and truth becomes a casualty.	[6]
1986 (34th)	Yeh Woh Manzil To Nahin	Hindi	Sudhir Mishra	Sudhir Mishra	For an incisive analysis of history as seen through the eyes of three elderly freedom fighters and its impact on their stand against social injustice in contemporary times.	[7]
1987 (35th)	Ekti Jiban	Bengali	Chalchitra	Raja Mitra	For a very courageous first attempt of a director in tackling the subject of an individual unwavering in his conviction in the cultural value of his language and single handly making available its enriching value to the generation of his people who will come after him.	[8]
1988 (36th)	Trishagni	Hindi	Nabendu Ghosh	Nabendu Ghosh	For excellent exploration of complex philosophical theme for the first time in Indian cinema.	[9]
1989 (37th)	Wosobipo	Karbi	Karbi Anglong District Council	Gautam Bora	For its fresh and original evocation of the collective unconscious of a hill tribe whose way of life has been disintergrating over the last four decades, as seen through the eyes of a boy growing up into the responsibilities of manhood.	[10]
1990 (38th)	Perumthachan	Malayalam	G. Jayakumar	Ajayan	For depicting a historical backdrop with authenticity, shattering all traditional beliefs with superlative artistic texture.	[11]
1991 (39th)	Haladhar	Assamese	Geeti Barua and Dwijen Hazorika	Sanjeev Hazorika	For its freshness of approach, the subtlety of its pervasive humour and the courage shown in choosing to build a film around a plough.	[12]
1992 (40th)	Miss Beatty's Children	English	NFDC, Doordarshan and Rooks AV	Pamela Rooks	For an elegantly simple and sensitive depiction of a British missionary woman who fights the devdasi system in pre-independent India.	[13]
1993 (41st)	Sunya Theke Suru	Bengali	H. Das, Madhumanti Maitra and M. Das	Ashoke Viswanathan	For its creative handling of sensitive subject, exhibiting the socio-political situation of out society, spanning three decades.	[14]
1994 (42nd)	Mogamul	Tamil	J. Dharmambal	Gnana Rajasekaran	For an able translation of a literary work of art, for integrating music with melodramatic narrative and for a cinematic simplicity matched with remarkable directorial control.	[15]
1995 (43rd)	Kahini	Bengali	Chandramala Bhattacharya and Malaya Bhattacharya	Malaya Bhattacharya	For its bold and innovative style and choice of a subject in which the form and content merges into one.	[16]
1996 (44th)	Rag Birag	Assamese	Bhabhen Baruah and Khanin Baruah	Bidyut Chakraborty	For director's sensitivity in portraying complex human psyche of individual character's in the film.	[17]
1997 (45th)	Bhoothakkannadi	Malayalam	Nair Krishnakamur Unni	A. K. Lohithadas	For the director's competent handling of the delicate balance of the human psyche.	[18]
1998 (46th)	Daya	Malayalam	C. K. Gopinath	Venu	For its depiction of a delightful fairy-tale-like theme lending exotic sophistication and colour to the unique mosaic of creativity, imagination and style.	[19]
1999 (47th)	Dollar Dreams	English	Sekhar Kammula	Sekhar Kammula	For tacking in a very natural manner the burning problem of brain drain to the techno-logically developed world.	[20]
1999 (47th)	Laado	Haryanvi	Kumud Chaudhary	Ashwini Chaudhary	For taking a bold stand over women's rights in the traditionally orthodox agricultural community of Haryana.
2000 (48th)	Sayahnam	Malayalam	M. S. Nazeer	R. Sarath	For the nature and gripping manner in which this young director deals with complex issues like political honesty and nuclear disarmament.	[21]
2001 (49th)	Thilaadanam	Telugu	NFDC	K. N. T. Sastry	For its juxtaposition of two diverse ideologies existing within the same family – the father's belief in his religion and traditions and his son's revolutionary ideology. The film strikes a very fine balance in inter-generational explorations.	[22]
2002 (50th)	Patalghar	Bengali	Niti Sonee Gourisaria	Abhijit Chaudhuri	For its craftsmanship and fine blending of the conventions of science fiction and an indigenous narrative form.	[23]
2002 (50th)	Prohor	Bengali	Debjani Gupta	Subhadro Chaudhary	For its use of sensitive idiom to portray the trauma of a brutalized woman.
2003 (51st)	Margam	Malayalam	Rajiv Vijay Raghavan	Rajiv Vijay Raghavan	For poignantly capturing the troubled journey of a middle-aged individual reexamining his p0litical past in the light of prevailing socio-political values.	[24]
2004 (52nd)	Grahanam	Telugu	N. Anji Reddy	Mohan Krishna Indraganti	For invoking nostalgia in a manner that is powerful yet poetic.	[25]
2005 (53rd)	Parineeta	Hindi	Vidhu Vinod Chopra	Pradeep Sarkar	For the competent directorial style to recreate a classic novel with modern cinematic sensibilities.	[26]
2006 (54th)	Eakantham	Malayalam	Anthony Joseph	Madhu Kaithapram	For sensitively portraying the solitude of two ageing brothers who have lost everyone around them.	[27]
2006 (54th)	Kabul Express	Hindi	Aditya Chopra	Kabir Khan	For capturing, through the journey of two Indian journalists, the collapse of Taliban in post 9/11 Afghanistan.
2007 (55th)	Frozen	Hindi, Ladakhi	Shivajee Chandrabhushan	Shivajee Chandrabhushan	For bringing to life with warmth and vivacity life in those distant desolate snow bound heights where existence itself is a fulltime challenge.	[28]
2008 (56th)	A Wednesday!	Hindi	UTV Motion Pictures	Neeraj Pandey	For slick and searing exposure of the tension below the normal rhythm of life and the angst of the common man in Mumbai.	[29]
2009 (57th)	Lahore	Hindi	Vivek Khatkar	Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan	For excellent control over the medium and using sport as a metaphor to tell a compelling story.	[30]
2010 (58th)	Baboo Band Baaja	Marathi	Nita Jadhav	Rajesh Pinjani	For a riveting tale of a father reluctant to educate his son, a mother who fiercely believes in its liberatory value, and the son who is caught in the crossfire, 'Baboo' is an outstanding debut project by director.	[31]
2011 (59th)	Aaranya Kaandam	Tamil	S. P. B. Charan	Thiagarajan Kumararaja	For a stylized and ironic reinvention of the gangster genre that presents a dazzling map of Chennai's subterranean world of druglords and violence. The director cinematically scrutinizes the landscape of decaying architecture, abandoned factories, old cars and the crisis of masculinity to present a labyrinthine urban dystopia. The city emerges as a wasteland that is simultaneously mundane, shocking and nightmarish.	[32]
2012 (60th)	Chittagong	Hindi	Bedabrata Pain	Bedabrata Pain	A page from the history of India's independence struggle. The director has recreated a small town incident which had national impact with consummate artistry in his debut film.	[33]
2012 (60th)	101 Chodyangal	Malayalam	Thomas Kottackkakom	Sidhartha Siva	Highly watchable cinematic experience presented through a special relationship between a young precocious child and his conscientious school teacher. The director in his debut film has done a commendable job in putting forth a topical and sensitive issue.
2013 (61st)	Fandry	Marathi	Navalkha Arts and Holy Basil Combine	Nagraj Manjule	A stark and realistic portrayal of Dalits in India seen through the eyes of a young boy who is desperately trying to break age old shackles. It makes a strong statement that despite various reformers doing their best.... much remains to be done.	[34]
2014 (62nd)	Asha Jaoar Majhe	Bengali	For Films and Salaam Cinema	Aditya Vikram Sengupta	For the portrayal of routine ordinary life with extraordinary cinematic finesse.	[35]
2015 (63rd)	Masaan	Hindi	Phantom Films	Neeraj Ghaywan	For his perceptive approach to film-making in handling a layered story of people caught up changing social and moral values.	[36]

References

1. "28th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
2. "29th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
3. "30th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
4. "31st National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
5. "32nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
6. "33rd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
7. "34th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 7 January 2012.
8. "35th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
9. "36th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
10. "37th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
11. "38th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
12. "39th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
13. "40th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
14. "41st National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
15. "42nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
16. "43rd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
17. "44th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
18. "45th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
19. "46th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
20. "47th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
21. "48th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
22. "49th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
23. "50th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. pp. 18–19. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
24. "51st National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
25. "52nd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
26. "53rd National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
27. "54th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
28. "55th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
29. "56th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
30. "57th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
31. "58th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
32. "59th National Film Awards for the Year 2011 Announced". Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
33. "60th National Film Awards Announced" (PDF) (Press release). Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
34. "61st National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
35. "62nd National Film Awards" (PDF) (Press release). Directorate of Film Festivals. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
36. "63rd National Film Awards" (PDF) (Press release). Directorate of Film Festivals. 28 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.

External links

• Official Page for Directorate of Film Festivals, India
• National Film Awards Archives
• National Film Awards at IMDB