The National Film Award in Indian cinema is not merely an award, but one of the most significant recognitions of any artist's talent. However, data analysis over the last decade in the Hindi film industry reveals an interesting trend. It appears that brilliant portrayal of a fictional character is no longer sufficient to contend for the National Award.
Biographical films and works based on historical events are becoming an increasingly straightforward path to receiving this award. Among the eight winners of the 'Best Actor' award in Hindi cinema after 2016, five received it for films inspired by real biographies or historical events. Examples include 'Rustam' by Akshay Kumar, 'Tanhaji' by Ajay Devgn, '12th Fail' by Vikrant Mesra, 'Chandu Champion' by Kartik Aaryan, and 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' by Alia Bhatt.
The presence of 'real' characters is constantly increasing in the major race for the National Award in Hindi cinema, but this shift did not happen suddenly. Previously, films based on biographies also helped actors gain national recognition. For instance, Ajay Devgn won an award for his role in 'Legend of Bhagat Singh,' Irfan Khan was recognized for Pana Singh Tomar, and Rajkumar Rao received an award for playing Shahid.
Nevertheless, when looking at the overall picture of that period, the winners were not limited only to biographical or real characters. Actor Amitabh Bachchan won awards for films such as 'Agneepath,' 'Black,' 'Pa,' and 'Piku.'
Thus, the question is not whether biographical films guarantee a National Award. The question is why the appeal of roles based on real personalities has increased in the awards system in recent years?
'Rustam' by Akshay Kumar serves as a prime example. The film's plot was inspired by the high-profile KM Nanavati case of 1959, and the character Rustam Pawari drew inspiration from the real naval officer Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati. The actor reduced his weight and worked on a Parsishe accent for this role.
The film 'Uri: The Surgical Strike' by Vicky Kaushal was also inspired by a real Indian military operation. Although the character Major Vikhan Singh Shergill is fictional, his background is based on real military events and officers. In Ajay Devgn's 'Tanhaji,' there was also a story: Tanhaji Malusare was a real warrior of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's army, and the actor had to master combat techniques such as sword and shield fighting.
Next is '12th Fail,' where Vikrant Mesra played the role of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma. And in 'Chandu Champion,' Kartik Aaryan embodied the image of Paralympic medalist Muralikant Petkar. For this role, the actor underwent significant physical changes; reports suggest he lost weight from 90 kg to 72 kg over 14 months and significantly reduced body fat percentage.
Here lies an interesting point: when an actor plays a fictional character, the audience perceives their performance within the context of the world created within the film. But when the same actor plays a real person, there is an additional criterion for evaluating their performance, causing their acting to be scrutinized more closely. Nevertheless, statistics from recent years show that biographical films have become the preferred choice for receiving the National Award.