The 34th 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 1986. Ceremony took place in September 1987.
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 AwardBommireddy Nagi ReddyFilm producerSwarna Kamal, 1,00,000 and a Shawl
Feature films
Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 34th National Film Awards, a Kannada film, Tabarana Kathe won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, whereas a Hindi film, Mirch Masala and a Bengali film, Phera won the maximum number of awards (3). Following were the awards given in each category:
Juries
A committee headed by Bhisham Sahni was appointed to evaluate the feature films awards. Following were the jury members:
Jury Members Bhisham Sahni (Chairperson)Ashok MitranJahnu BaruaN. KrishnamoorthyR. LakshmanRamesh NaiduSai ParanjpyeSankar BhattacharyaSwapan GhoshT. Prakash Rao
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 FilmTabarana KatheKannadaProducer: Apoorva Chitra 50,000/-Director: Girish Kasaravalli 25,000/-Citation: For an extremely sensitive probe into the anguish of a helpless individual caught in a bureaucratic web, depicted with great feeling and expertise as he waits for his pension, which arrives too late.Best Debut Film of a DirectorYeh Woh Manzil To NahinHindiProducer and Director: Sudhir Mishra 25,000/- EachCitation: 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.Best Film Providing Popular and Wholesome EntertainmentSamsaram Adhu MinsaramTamilProducer: AVM Productions 40,000/-Director: Visu 20,000/-Citation: For its entertaining presentation of a complex contemporary social problem - the disintegration of the joint family.
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 Film on Other Social IssuesDoore Doore Oru Koodu KoottamMalayalamProducer: M. Mani 30,000/-Director: Sibi Malayil 15,000/-Citation: For focussing on the dire need for integrity in the educational system in remote areas in a heart warming film, charmingly narrated.Best DirectionOridathuMalayalamG. Aravindan 20,000/-Citation: For his masterly and powerful depiction of changing society reeling under the onslaught of technical progress.Best CinematographyNamukku Parkkan Munthiri ThoppukalMalayalamVenu 15,000/-Citation: For the lyrical and brilliant visual presentation.Amma AriyanMalayalamVenuCitation: For his powerful and disturbing black and white photography.Best ScreenplayPheraBengaliBuddhadeb Dasgupta 10,000/-Citation: For its penetrative and sensitive screenplay depicting the trauma faced by an artist in search of his identity in relation to his professional and personal life.Best ActorTabarana KatheKannadaCharuhasan 10,000/-Citation: For an immensely moving and controlled portrayal of an individual's anguish, as he waits endlessly for justice.Best ActressNakhakshathangalMalayalamMonisha 10,000/-Citation: For her portrayal in the film, in which she depicts an entire range of human emotions and gives an extra dimension to the character os Gowri, a village lass destined to love and lose.Best Supporting ActorMirch MasalaHindiSuresh Oberoi 10,000/-Citation: For breathing life into complex feaudal character, who tries to control a destiny beyond his reach.Best Supporting ActressBhangala SilataOriyaManjula Kanwar 10,000/-Citation: For a startlingly realistic portrayal of an exploited, illiterate woman who lives like a haunted animal, trapped into accepting her ultimate fate.Best Child ArtistPheraBengaliAniket Sengupta 5,000/-Citation: For his lively and poignant portrayal of a young boy who brings new faith and meaning to the life of an aged artiste.Best AudiographyPath BholaBengaliDurga MitraJyoti Prasad Chatterjee 10,000/-Citation: For adding a new dimension to the film by a sensitive employment of sound.Best EditingMirch MasalaHindiSanjiv Shah 10,000/-Citation: For his perfection in creating a smooth flow.Best Art DirectionMadhvacharyaKannadaP. Krishnamoorthy 10,000/-Citation: For effectively recreating the era of Madhvacharya.Best Music DirectionMadhvacharyaKannadaM. Balamuralikrishna 10,000/-Citation: For the effective use of classical music blended with folk music.Best Male Playback SingerLalan FakirBengaliHemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay 10,000/-Citation: For his superb rendering of the traditional songs in his deep and vibrant voice.Best Female Playback SingerNakhakshathangalMalayalamK. S. Chithra 10,000/-Citation: For her melodious rendering of songs.Best Costume DesignParinatiHindiPrabhat Jha 10,000/-Citation: For the authenticity in the use of costumes.Special Jury AwardAmma AriyanMalayalamJohn Abraham 5,000/-Citation: For his directorial excellence and originality in the treatment. Special MentionHimgharBengaliSandip RayCertificate only
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 AssameseBaanProducer: Do-Re-Me Films 20,000/-Director: Charu Kamal Hazarika 10,000/-Citation: For its incisive comment on the post-independence establishment in a flood-prone region.Best Feature Film in BengaliPheraProducer: Buddhadeb Dasgupta 20,000/-Director: Buddhadeb Dasgupta 10,000/-Citation: For its depiction of dilemma of a creative artiste in a world of changing values.Best Feature Film in HindiMirch MasalaProducer: NFDC 20,000/-Director: Ketan Mehta 10,000/-Citation: For its moving depiction of a rural woman's struggle against oppressive social conditions in the pre-Independence era.Best Feature Film in KannadaShankha NadaProducer: Umesh Kulkarni 20,000/-Director: Umesh Kulkarni 10,000/-Citation: For its satirical presentation of the facts of the panchayat system in a faction-ridden village.Best Feature Film in MalayalamUppuProducer: K. M. A. Rahim 20,000/-Director: V. K. Pavithran 10,000/-Citation: For its depiction of people caught in the midst of religious conservatism.Best Feature Film in OriyaMajhi PahachaProducer: Dipti Mohanty 20,000/-Director: Manmohan Mahapatra 10,000/-Citation: For a faithful portrayal of a range of individuals in today's urban milieu.Best Feature Film in TamilMouna RagamProducer: G. Venkateswaran 20,000/-Director: Mani Ratnam 10,000/-Citation: For its sensitive portrayal of an urban young woman's voyage to self-discovery.Best Feature Film in TeluguSwathi MuthyamProducer: Edida Nageshwara Rao 20,000/-Director: K. Viswanath 10,000/-Citation: For an effective rendering of a dramatic story about a man too innocent and child-like to fit into the scheme of the hard, calculating world.
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 EnglishWatchmanProducer: T. S. Narasimhan 20,000/-Director: Shankar Nag 10,000/-Citation: For the charming rendering of the story an old watchman saving a young girl from suicide, himself having lost all his near and dear ones.
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.
Juries
A committee headed by Adoor Gopalakrishnan was appointed to evaluate the non-feature films awards. Following were the jury members:
Jury Members Adoor Gopalakrishnan (Chairperson)Jalal AghaManmohan ShettySivan
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 Non-Feature FilmThe Land of Sand DunesEnglishProducer: Orchid Films Pvt. Ltd.Director: Gautam Ghose 15,000/- EachCitation: For the sensitivity and feel for the subject expressed in its effective cinematic style.
Silver Lotus Award
Official Name: Rajat Kamal
All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)' and cash prize.