The 42nd National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1994. Ceremony took place in 1995 and awards were given by then President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma.
Awards
Awards were divided into feature films, non-feature films and books written on Indian cinema.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Name of AwardImageAwardee(s)Awarded AsAwardsDadasaheb Phalke AwardDilip KumarActorSwarna Kamal, and a Shawl
Feature films
Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 42nd National Film Awards, a Bengali film, Unishe April won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film whereas a Tamil film, Kaadhalan and a Malayalam film, Parinayam won the maximum number of awards (4). Following were the awards given in each category:
All India Award
Following were the awards given:
Golden Lotus Award
Official Name: Swarna Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with "Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)", a certificate and cash prize.
Name of AwardName of FilmLanguageAwardee(s)Cash prizeBest Feature FilmUnishe AprilBengaliProducer: Renu Roy 50,000/-Director: Rituparno Ghosh 25,000/-Citation: For a complex and impeccable rendition of fragmenting family relationships in urban India. The bond between a mother and daughter is extended to a defined space and time, and a drama immaculately constructed.Best Debut Film of A DirectorMogha MullTamilProducer: J. DharmambalDirector: Gnana Rajasekaran 25,000/- EachCitation: 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.Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome EntertainmentHum Aapke Hain Koun..!HindiProducer: Rajshri Productions 40,000/-Director: Sooraj R. Barjatya 20,000/-Citation: For revolutionising mass entertainment in India with a family entertainer and a fantasy film that succeeds without recourse to familiar narrative idioms of violence.Best Children's FilmKochaniyanMalayalamProducer: Bushura Shahudeen 30,000/-Director: Sathieesh Vengannoor 15,000/-Citation: For a simple but effective tale of a middle class Kerala family told through the experiences and dreams of a young boy.AbhayHindiProducer: National Center of Films for Children and Young People 30,000/-Director: Annu Kapoor 15,000/-Citation: For an entertaining film advocating humane love between a child and a ghost advocating a rational outlook to life.Best DirectionXagoroloi BohudoorAssameseJahnu Barua 50,000/-Citation: For capturing Assamese life and reality in an original format uniquely associated with the director, and for enriching the spectrum of Indian Cinema thereby.
Silver Lotus Award
Official Name: Rajat Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with "Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)", a certificate and cash prize.
Name of AwardName of FilmLanguageAwardee(s)Cash prizeBest Feature Film on National IntegrationMuktaMarathiProducer: Ashok B. Mhatre 30,000/-Director: Jabbar Patel 15,000/-Citation: For mapping a sharply defined dramatic style on to a canvas of national caste oppression and for unversalising the alliances of the Indian Dalit people.Best Film on Family WelfareKaruththammaTamilProducer: Vetrivel Art Creations 30,000/-Director: Bharathiraja 15,000/-Citation: For extending the pressing social issue of female infanticide onto a melodrama spanning the canvas of rural Tamil Nadu, a dimension that is now uniquely Bharathiraja signature.Best Film on Other Social IssuesParinayamMalayalamProducer: G. P. Vijayakumar 30,000/-Director: Hariharan 15,000/-Citation: For recreating a real incident in the social history of Kerala, thereby indicating the continued relevance of gender oppression in traditional caste-dominated society.WheelchairBengaliProducer: NFDC 30,000/-Director: Tapan Sinha 15,000/-Citation: For a positive rendition of the condition of handicapped people suggesting affirmative action.Best Film on Environment / Conservation / PreservationNirbachanaOriyaProducer: NFDC and Doordarshan 30,000/-Director: Biplab Ray Chowdhury 15,000/-Citation: For a stunningly controlled and uniquely cinematic metaphor of rural India and impending environment catastrophe shown with compassion and satire.Best ActorKrantiveerHindiNana Patekar 10,000/-Citation: For his impressive portrayal of a man who lives on his own terms. He is able to rekindle in the common man the deep, hidden resource of strength that lies dormant in each one of us.Best ActressUnishe AprilBengaliDebashree Roy 10,000/-Citation: For her complete identification with character of lonely doctor. The wide range of emotion is portrayed in a most sensitive and controlled manner in this film.Best Supporting ActorDrohkaalHindiAshish Vidyarthi 10,000/- EachCitation: For bringing credibility to his role with strength and total conviction.NammavarTamilNageshCitation: For making heart break of a broken father come alive with dignity and poise.Best Supporting ActressMammoHindiSurekha Sikri 10,000/-Citation: For her portrayal of surrogate mother, underplayed with quite sensitivity and gentleness.Best Child ArtistKotreshi KanasuKannadaVijay Raghavendra 10,000/-Citation: For his portrayal of bright little boy who is a social outcast. He wins your heart with his soft and endearing mannerisms.Best Male Playback SingerKaadhalanPavithraTamilP. Unni Krishnan 10,000/-Citation: For his range and masterly rendition of the songs of two Tamil films, demonstrating a rare professionalism and command over technique.Best Female Playback SingerKaruththammaTamilSwarnalatha 10,000/-Citation: For her extraordinarily compassionate song upon which much of the crucial dramatic action in the film is enacted.Best CinematographyThenmavin KombathMalayalamCameraman: K. V. AnandLaboratory Processing: Gemini Color Lab, Madras 15,000/-Citation: In recognition of the outstanding cinematography executed with sincerity, imagination and flexibility. Fluid camera movements, praise compositions, and use of light are the highlights of this visual experience.Best ScreenplayParinayamMalayalamM. T. Vasudevan Nair 10,000/-Citation: For his masterly use of fiction in cinema, reconstructing pre-1940s Kerala through sharply defined characters and remarkable control over dialogue.Best AudiographyKaadhalanTamilA. S. Laxmi NarayananV. S. Murthy 10,000/-Citation: For combining numerous effects in multiple tracks and an often dazzling array of music, sound and dialogue with remarkable technical control.Best EditingKaadhalanTamilB. Lenin V. T. Vijayan 10,000/-Citation: For the sheer magic of an editing idiom, cut to perfect timing event at a breath taking pace, in sequences that often make the implausible a plausibility.Best Art DirectionThenmavin KombathMalayalamSabu Cyril 10,000/-Citation: For creating an appropriate space for a romantic fantasy in cinema-scope in tandem with the cinematography.Best Costume DesignAmodiniBengaliSupriya Dasgupta 10,000/-Citation: For an aesthetic recreation of 18th century costumes, evoking the traditions of Bengali painting and theatre.Best Music DirectionParinayamSukruthamMalayalamRavi (Bombay) 10,000/- EachCitation: For his melodious rendering of his tunes. The music in both the films exhibit originality and creatively highlights the entire mood of the two films, achieving musical harmonySukruthamMalayalamJohnsonCitation: For scoring the background music.Best LyricsKaruththammaPavithraTamilVairamuthu 10,000/-Citation: Through their lyrics, he is able to bring to the fore his rich repertory of poetic expression which sensitively enhances the mood of the films.Best Special EffectsKaadhalanTamilC. MurugeshS. T. Venki 10,000/-Citation: In recognition of many spectacular sequences creatively engineered.Best ChoreographyHum Aapke Hain Koun..!HindiJay Borade 10,000/-Citation: For her graceful and aesthetically pleasing choreography, contemporary and yet traditional in its adherence to Indian cultural practices.Special Jury AwardParam Vir ChakraHindiRadhu Karmakar (Posthumously) (Cinematographer) 25,000/- EachCitation: In appreciation of a lifetime achievement in creating some of the most memorable moments in Indian film history.SwahamMalayalamShaji N. Karun (Director)Citation: For one of the most outstanding directors of Indian cinema, for sensitively probing the vacuum created in a family, when its central pivot is lost in death.Special MentionNammavarTamilMahesh Mahadevan (Music director)Certificate OnlyCitation: For his unusual and innovative score, using sound effects as an integral part of his musical arrangement.Xagoroloi BohudoorAssameseBishnu Kharghoria (Actor)Citation: For his poignant and memorable role for bringing alive the heartrending agony of a boatman and his grandson, who is not only deserted by his son, but also his life sustaining river – his only source of livelihood.ParinayamMalayalamS. Kumar (Cinematographer)Citation: For recreating and bringing to life an ambiance and characters that help lend credibility to a difficult and complex scenario. Sensitively handled and a sustained performance where the camera and lights have been used as an extension of the creative story teller.
Regional Awards
The award is given to best film in the regional languages in India.
Name of AwardName of FilmAwardee(s)Cash prizeBest Feature Film in AssameseXagoroloi BohudoorProducer: Sailadhar Baruah and Jahnu Barua 20,000/-Director: Jahnu Barua 10,000/-Citation: For the filmmaker's ability to tell a complex tale with minimal canvas, handling the medium with control, restraint and extraordinary sensitivity.Best Feature Film in BengaliAmodiniProducer: NFDC and Doordarshan 20,000/-Director: Chidananda Dasgupta 10,000/-Citation: For a stylised and innovative period rendition of complex social relations in 18th century Bengal, integrating performances with camera movements and mise en scene.Best Feature Film in HindiMammoProducer: NFDC and Doordarshan 20,000/-Director: Shyam Benegal 10,000/-Citation: For a poignant narrative of a family set against the trauma of exiled people in past post partition India.Best Feature Film in KannadaKotreshi KanasuProducer: G. Nandakumar 20,000/-Director: Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar 10,000/-Citation: For a simple but effective tale of a young harijan boy fighting cast justice in rural Karnataka.Best Feature Film in MalayalamSukruthamProducer: M. M. Ramachandran 20,000/-Director: Hari Kumar 10,000/-Citation: Against the backdrop of impending death, complex marital and social relationships are explored.Best Feature Film in ManipuriMayophy Gee MachaProducer: Thouyangba and Thoungamba 20,000/-Director: Oken Amakcham 10,000/-Citation: For a simple story of a rural life in Manipuri handled with a deft mastery over the medium.Best Feature Film in TamilNammavarProducer: B. Venkatarama Reddy 20,000/-Director: K. S. Sethumadhavan 10,000/-Citation: For professionally assembled tale of a college professor who encounters student violence, marked by several impressive performances.
Best Feature Film in Each of the Language Other Than Those Specified in the Schedule VIII of the Constitution
Name of AwardName of FilmAwardee(s)Cash prizeBest Feature Film in EnglishEnglish, AugustProducer: Anuradha Parikh 20,000/-Director: Dev Benegal 10,000/-Citation: For adapting a complex and highly applauded novel with a cinematic skill and mastery matching the original work, a translation unusual in contemporary Indian cinema.
Non-Feature Films
Short Films made in any Indian language and certified by the Central Board of Film Certification as a documentary/newsreel/fiction are eligible for non-feature film section.
Golden Lotus Award
Official Name: Swarna Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with "Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)", a certificate and cash prize.