President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, presented the 68th National Film Awards in various categories in New Delhi today (September 30, 2022). She also conferred the Prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award on Ms. Asha Parekh. Expressing her views on the occasion, Madam Murmu congratulated all the winners of the 68th National Film Awards. She also congratulated Ms. Asha Parekh for winning Dadasaheb Phalke Award and said that the sisters of that generation made their mark in various fields despite many constraints and honoring Ms. Parekh is an honour for the indomitable female power.

Madam President expressed that the film industry plays a major role in building a better society and nation, apart from just making films. The audio-visual medium, the influence of films is wider than other mediums of art. She said that cinema is not only an industry but also a medium of artistic expression of our culture and values. It is also a medium for connecting our society and for nation-building. She also said that films have greater influence on youth and children. Therefore, the society expects the film industry to effectively utilize this medium in building the future of the country.

Madam Murmu said, “as we are celebrating the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, feature and non-feature films on the life and work of freedom fighters will be welcomed by the audience. People also expect films which increase compassion and unity in society, accelerate the pace of development and strengthen the efforts of environmental protection.” She was happy to note that the films that got awards today, have highlighted important national issues of nature and environment, culture, social values and other important aspects. Smt. Murmu also said that Indian films are being welcomed all over the world and in order to make them more effective use of this soft-power, the industry has to enhance the quality of  movies. She noted that films made in one region are becoming more and more popular in other regions as well. She said that in this way cinema is tying all people in one cultural thread. This is a big contribution of the film community to society.