Vishal Bhardwaj Reacts to His 9th National Award for 'Fursat' Music, Calls It 'Greatest Validation' of His Work

Earlier today, the winners of the 70th National Film Awards were announced, with Vishal Bhardwaj clinching his ninth National Award for Best Music Direction for Fursat. The 2023 short film, starring Ishaan Khatter and Wamiqa Gabbi, was notably shot on an iPhone. Bhardwaj’s previous national honours include awards for The Blue Umbrella (Best Children’s Film), Omkara (Special Jury Award – Feature Film), and Haider (Best Screenplay – Dialogues and Best Music Direction).

He has also won for Talvar (Best Screenplay – Adapted), Godmother (Best Music Direction), Ishqiya (Best Music Direction), and 1232 KMS (Best Non-Feature Film Music Direction). Elated with his latest win, Bhardwaj shared, “I am deeply happy to receive my ninth National Award. It is the biggest award in our country, the only one that truly matters. Winning this is the greatest validation of my work! Thank you to the jury. Now, I need to strive for double digits.”

In addition to Bhardwaj’s win, Pritam secured Best Music Director for Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva, while AR Rahman won Best Background Music for his work in Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan 2. Ponniyin Selvan 2’s Anand Krishnamurthy also won Best Sound Design, and Arijit Singh took home Best Playback Singer Male for Brahmastra.

This year’s National Film Awards saw Kannada cinema shining brightly. Rishabh Shetty won Best Actor for Kantara, which also bagged the award for Best Popular Film. Yash’s KGF Chapter 2 won Best Kannada Film and Best Action Direction. Jr NTR congratulated Shetty on X, writing, “Congratulations to @shetty_rishab on your well-deserved Best Actor win for Kantara! Your mind-blowing performance still gives me goosebumps… Also, congrats to the entire team of Kantara for winning Best Popular Film.”