At the 70th National Film Awards, Rahul V Chittella's Gulmohar won big. The family drama received awards for the Best Hindi Feature Film, Best Dialogues along with Manoj Bajpayee winning the special mention award for the film. Sharmila Tagore, who returned to the screen after 13 years, attended the ceremony to cheer for the film. Sharing her joy and excitement she said on the red carpet that she attended the ceremony to cheer for the film. Speaking about her character, Sharmila Tagore said, "I played the role of a matriarch. The director defined the role so beautifully. I have come here to cheer for Rahul. It's his first film."
The film explores the themes of familial ties in the changing dynamics of time, relationship and dislocation. Sharmila played a character in the film who tries to bridge the communication gap between generations with her wisdom and openness. The film stars Manoj Bajpayee, Simran, Suraj Sharma, Amol Palekar and others.
Speaking of the National Awards, Rishab Shetty (Best Actor), Nithya Menen and Manasi Parekh (Best Actress), Sooraj Barjatya (Best Director), Neena Gupta (Best Supporting Actress) and Pawan Malhotra (Best Supporting Actor) won big among others. Rishab Shetty won the award for his performance in Kantara while Nithya and Manashi shared the prize for their performances in the films Tiruchitrabalam and Kutch Express respectively. Neena Gupta received the prize for the film Uunchai, which also brought Best Director award for Sooraj Barjatya. Pawan Malhotra won the award for Fouji. The Dada Saheb Phalke Award, India's highest film honour, went to film veteran Mithun Chakraborty this year.