The official declaraction is not out yet, but the 53rd National Awards for excellence in Indian cinema are virtually out of the bag, and the results are not as mainstream as they have been in recent years.
The award for Best Film goes to Buddhadeb Dasgupta's Bengali film Kalpurush, a father-son tale starring Mithun, Rahul Bose and Sameera Reddy. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black and Pradeep Sarkar's Parineeta were also in the running.
The Dada Saheb Phalke Award, the country's premiere award in recognition of cinema, goes to actress Suchitra Sen, but it seems unlikely the reclusive legend will make a public appearance to accept the honour.
The Best Director and Best Actress awards go to Parzania, a story set during the Gujarat riots, with Rahul Dholakia and Sarika winning the respective honours.
The Best Actor award goes to Amitabh Bachchan for Black. Media speculation was high that his co-star Rani Mukerji would nab the Best Actress award, but this was not to be. Bachchan, 64, has won the trophy earlier, for 1990's Agneepath.
Naseeruddin Shah has picked up Best Supporting Actor for Iqbal, while Rang De Basanti has been honoured with the Special Award for National Integration. Aparna Sen's 15, Park Avenue wins for Best English Film.
Finally, Vishal Bhardwaj's yet-unreleased The Blue Umbrella wins the award for Best Children's Film.
What do you think? Are these the right decisions? Or has the jury made some shocking mistakes? Did anyone else deserve to win? Tell us.
