Event Makes A Rare Delhi Exit; To Be Held On Sep 22
The 72nd National Film Awards ceremony will be held at Ektanagar, formerly Kevadia, in Gujarat on Sep 22, with President Droupadi Murmu presenting the honours, officials said Monday. Ektanagar is home to the 597-foot Statue of Unity dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018. Instituted in 1954, the National Film Awards have overwhelmingly been presented in Delhi, with Vigyan Bhawan hosting most ceremonies. The 17th National Film Awards were presented at the University Centenary Auditorium in Madras, now Chennai, on Nov 21, 1970.
Among those being honoured is filmmaker Aanand L Rai, who has won Best Direction in the non-feature category for Statue of Unity – Ekta ka Prateek. A film on the Statue of Unity will receive a National Award in the shadow of the monument itself when the country’s top cinema honours make a rare journey out of Delhi this month. The choice gives this year’s ceremony a distinctly symbolic setting. The move nevertheless breaks with a long-established pattern. They have, however, travelled outside the capital before.