Best singer awardee Nanjiyamma charms Asha Parekh with her singing at National Film Awards

The 68th National Film Awards, which were held in the National Capital on September 30, turned special after talents under various categories were recognised. From veteran actor Asha Parekh being conferred with the 52nd Dada Saheb Phalke Award to Ajay Devgn, Suriya, and others bagging the Best Actor awards, several personalities were honoured. 

Apart from the award ceremony, the highlight of the event was veteran singer Nanjiyamma's musical tribute to Asha Parekh. The legendary musician bagged the Best Female Playback Singer award for AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum (Malayalam). The audience gave her a standing ovation as she went on the stage to receive the award.

Nanjiyamma croons song for Dadasaheb Phalke Awardee Asha Parekh

Post the award ceremony, a beautiful moment captured the hearts of the crowd when Nanjiyamma, sang a song before Dadasaheb Phalke Awardee Asha Parekh. The iconic musician sang the song from the award-winning film Ayyappanum Koshiyum after she was conferred with the award by President Draupadi Murmu. 

For Nanjiyamma's performance, along with Parekh, the organisers and Union ministers were seen enjoying every bit of the performance by the singer. The official Twitter handle of PIB shared the video and wrote, " Nanjiyamma, who won the National Award for Best Female Playback Singer, sings before Dadasaheb Phalke Awardee #AshaParekh, Union Ministers @ianuragthakur @Murugan_MoS and others.

Nanjiyamma a folk singer, hails from a small tribal community in Kerala. Nachamma is a 64-year-old folk singer from Palakkad's Attappadi. She crooned the track Kalakkatha in Sachy's action thriller, which starred Biju Menon and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Kalakkatha is a homely melody from the tribal community, which narrates the story of a woman feeding her child. The track is sung in Irula, which is the language of the tribe to which Nanchamma belongs. The singer reportedly used to sing folklore at her home.

This year, at the 68th National Film Awards, there were 50 categories with over 300 feature films and 150 non-feature films competing for the prizes. There were 30 different languages in the movies. Led by director-producer Vipul Shah, a 10-member jury, comprising eminent filmmakers and film personalities from across Indian cinema, announced the awards back in July 2022.

IMAGE: Twitter/@PIB_India