66th National Film Award ceremony delayed, winners to be declared after General Elections 2019

Directorate of Film Festivals announced that the 66th National Film Awards winners will be announced and awarded after General Elections, 2019 as the awards also include a honour for one for the most film friendly state, reported ANI.

The announcement was made in order as the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force so the awards will be declared after the election process is over and the MCC concludes.

Since the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force, which facilitates level playing field to all political parties and the candidates and inter alia seeks to ensure that the power of media is not used in such a manner which affects the general conduct and level playing field during the election process, it has been decided to declare the awards after the election process is over and the MCC concludes.

The 66th National Film Awards ceremony is an upcoming event during which the Directorate of Film Festivals will present its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2018 in the Indian cinema. 

The awards ceremony is scheduled to be held on May 03, 2019 but will be postponed due to the general elctions. The date this year is yet to be finalised.

In 2018, the National Film Awards saw President Ram Nath Kovind honouring late Vinod Khanna with the Dadasaheb Phalke award, the highest award to recognise controbution to film. While Baahubali 2: The Conclusion won the honour of the Best Popular Film, Assamese film Village Rockstars was declared the Best Feature Film.

Bengali actor Riddhi Sen won the Best Actor award for his work in Bengali film Nagarkirtan, while Sridevi, who breathed her last in February 2018, was named the Best Actress posthumously for the film Mom.