Indian President Pranab Mukerjee honoured the winners of the 61st National Awards for the year 2013 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, on 3 May.
The winners of the National Awards were announced last month. Actors Rajkummar Rao and Suraj Venjaramoodu shared the Best Actor award for their performances in "Shahid" and "Perariyathavar", respectively.
Anand Gandhi's "Ship of Theseus" won Best Feature Film, whereas "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" bagged the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. To check out the complete list of winners, click HERE.
The awardees were honoured at a ceremony held on Saturday. They received their trophies from the President.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said: "Besides being a strong medium of expression, cinema is a vehicle of influence and persuasion for the youth. When our children witness scenes depicting violence and bloodshed, it does affect their psyche. It is incumbent on our film makers to make a concerted effort to distinguish between what clearly is an art form and what is not. The cinematic content of films should have a desirable impact on the social behaviour of people, especially the new generation."
"Faced with erosion of values in today's context, cinema should play a catalytic role in resetting our moral compass. Our film makers should deploy their creative efforts to present and propagate core values such as patriotism, respect for women, compassion and tolerance, and honesty and discipline. He stated that he was hopeful that everyone associated with the film industry would use their talent and artistic pursuits to create meaningful and socially relevant cinema," he added, according to a press statement.
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was also presented during the event. Veteran lyricist Gulzar received the award for his contribution to Indian cinema.
