Vice President Hamid Ansari today gave away the 59th National Film Awards. Ansari said, films play a significant role in portraying the linguistic and regional diversity of our culture. He said, Indian films are ambassadors of our culture, tradition and society. Ansari also said, Films foster people-to-people relations and promote our image and interests that have an enduring significance.

The Vice President said selection of two films in regional languages as the Best Feature Films, was an achievement for the regional film industry. Complimenting the Dada Sahab Phalke Award winner Soumtira Chatterjee, the Vice President said the partnership of Chatterjee with Satyajit Ray could be counted as a memorable director-actor combination in the history of cinema. The Vice President also lauded the 11 children who had won the Best Child Artists Awards for the 59th National Film Awards.

Best Actress Vidya Balan (film Dirty Picture), Best Actor Girish Kulkarni for the film Deeo in Marathi were among the winners who received the awards. The Best feature film awards were won by Deeo in Marathi and Byari in Byari language.

Minister for Information & Broadcasting Ambika Soni said that the year 2013 would be observed as the Centenary year of Indian Cinema. India’s first full length feature film “Raja Harishchandra” was released on 3rd May 1913 at Mumbai’s Coronation Cinema. To commemorate the release of India’s first film, the National Film Awards Ceremony would now on be held on 3rd of May every year.

Soni said that cinema had always been the social mirror of Indian society, acting as a catalyst and believing in the power of ideas, human relationships and the plurality of Indian culture.