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When the most prestigious stage of Indian cinema is adorned, the eyes of the entire country are focused on the National Film Awards held at Rashtrapati Bhavan and Vigyan Bhawan. This award is considered to be the highest honor for the artists who spread the magic of acting on the big screen, the directors who create stories behind the scenes and the technicians who infuse technical life. When the President hands over a ‘Golden Lotus’ or ‘Rajat Kamal’ medal to an actor or producer, the question that comes to every viewer’s mind is how much money does the government send to the bank accounts of the winners along with this honor and shining trophy.
There is often a perception among cinema experts and audiences that only medals and citations are given in these prestigious national awards. The reality is completely different from this. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India also gives a fixed cash prize to the winners every year. In recent years, the government has amended the decades-old rules and prize money and increased it considerably in line with the present times, making this award even more economically attractive.
The National Film Awards are mainly divided into two major medal categories—Golden Lotus and Silver Lotus. Under the revised rules, now a cash amount of Rs 3 lakh is given to the winners of Swarna Kamal. The award is given in top categories like Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Debut Film Director and Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. In this, both the producer and director are given this honor and prize money equally.
On the other hand, winners falling under the Silver Lotus category are given a prize money of Rs 2 lakh. This scope includes almost all the major technical and artistic categories like Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, Cinematography, Music Direction, Playback Singing and Editing. For example, when an actor or actress wins a National Award for Best Acting, he or she is given a Silver Lotus medal, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh from the government.
The highest pinnacle of the National Film Awards ceremony is the ‘Dada Saheb Phalke Award’, which is given to the personalities who have made a lifetime contribution to the development and promotion of Indian cinema. The amount awarded under this highest honor is much more than all other categories. Under the new amendments made by the government, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner is awarded a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh along with a Golden Lotus medal and a traditional shawl.
This amount is considered an official government honor for a lifetime of artistic practice for any Indian artist. Great personalities like Devika Rani, Satyajit Ray, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth, Asha Parekh and Waheeda Rehman have been honored on this historic platform. In the cinematic world, it is considered India’s ‘Oscar Lifetime Achievement’, where the honor is beyond any monetary value.
It is often seen during the announcement of National Film Awards that two actors or two films are declared joint winners in the same category. In such a situation, very strict and clear rules have been made regarding the distribution of cash prize. If two actors are jointly chosen as winners in the Best Actor or any other individual category, the fixed sum of Rs 2 lakh is divided equally between the two, i.e. Rs 1 lakh each.
However, the Silver Lotus Medal and the citation given as an honor are given separately to both the artists. At the same time, if a film gets the Best Feature Film award, then as per the rules, both its producer and director are given the entire amount of Rs 3 lakh each along with the Golden Lotus. In case of child artistes, even if multiple children are selected together, the prize money is divided equally among them.
Indian cinema is not limited to just mainstream stars, but non-features (documentaries and short films) and cinematic literature also contribute significantly to it. The National Film Awards also award Rs 2 lakh with a Silver Lotus in various categories for non-feature films and Rs 3 lakh with a Swarna Kamal for the Best Non-Feature Film. Apart from this, there is also a special arrangement of Golden Lotus and cash award for the best book writing on cinema and the best film critic.
The government has also given equal status to behind-the-scenes disciplines like sound design, VFX, costume design and make-up. The winners of these categories are also awarded with Silver Lotus and the full amount of Rs 2 lakh. This arrangement proves that the Indian National Film Awards are not based on mere TRPs like a commercial show, but on cinematic art, technical finesse and genuine preservation of cultural heritage.