The winners of the 70th National Award were revealed on Friday (Aug 16), and this year, the awards were dominated by South Indian cinema. Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan Part 1, ace-director Prashanth Neel’s blockbuster KGF 2, Rishab Shetty’s Kantara and Aattam were among the big winners from the south industry.
Neel’s KGF Chapter 2 starring Yash has won the Best Kannada Feature Film award and Best Action Direction (Stunt Choreography) categories in the Feature Films section.
In a statement shared with WION, director Neel gave major credit for the movie’s success to Yash. He stated, “I am truly honored by this National Award for ‘KGF Chapter 2.’ My deepest gratitude goes to Yash for his extraordinary performance and to the entire team and the crew for their relentless dedication. A heartfelt thank you to our audience for their unwavering support and to the media for their vital role in this journey. Congratulations to Rishab Shetty and Hombale Films for their well-deserved recognition with Kantara. This achievement is a shining moment for Kannada cinema and I’m grateful to everyone who made this possible.”
Produced by Vijay Kiragandur of Hombale Films, KGF: Chapter 2 features an ensemble cast led by superstar, Yash, along with Srinidhi Shetty, Sanjay Dutt, Raveena Tandon, Prakash Raj, Rao Ramesh, Easwari Rao, Achyuth Kumar and Archana Jois among others.
Released on April 14, 2022, the sequel earned moolah at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing post-pandemic film. The movie earned Rs 1,250 billion at the box office worldwide.
After the humongous success of the first two parts, Neel has revealed earlier that the third part of the movie is in the works. In an interview with Pinkvilla, the director said, “KGF 3 will happen. I don’t know if I am the director or not but Yash will always be a part of it.”
“On a serious note, KGF 3 will happen and we didn’t announce it for the sake of it. We already have a script. We had decided on the script before making the announcement. Yash is a very responsible individual and won’t put out things for just commercial reasons. We were sure to have things on paper before making an official announcement at the end of KGF 2,” he added.