Kangana Ranaut wins National Film Award for best actress for ‘Manikarnika’, ‘Panga’

Actor Kangana Ranaut has won the National Film Award for best actress for her films ‘Manikarnika’ and ‘Panga’. The 67th National Film Awards for the year 2019 were announced by the Centre on Monday,

Also read: Kangana, Dhanush, Manoj Bajpayee bag National Film Awards: Read full list

‘Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi’ was a period drama based on the life of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, who played a pivotal role in India’s first battle of independence against the British in 1857. In the film, directed by Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi, Ranaut played the lead role of the 19th-century warrior queen. 

‘Panga’ was a film about a middle-class woman, Jaya Nigam, who was a world-class Kabaddi player. While playing the role of a wife and mother, Jaya tries to give her life a new meaning and takes the decision to come back to the sport. Ranaut played the leading role of Jaya in this film, that released in 2020. The film also featured actors Neena Gupta, Jassi Gill and Richa Chadda.

Also read: Is Richa Chadha’s ‘signs of a sociopath’ tweet about Kangana Ranaut?

Actors Manoj Bajpayee and Dhanush won the award for Best Actor. Bajpayee won it for ‘Bhonsle’ and Dhanush for his performance in ‘Asuran’. Late actor Sushant Singh Rajput-starrer ‘Chhichhore‘ was named the best Hindi feature film.