The award was instituted in 1968, at 16th National Film Awards and awarded annually for films produced in the year across the country, in all Indian languages. The actors whose performances have won awards have worked in eleven major languages. Hindi (24 awards), Tamil (14 awards), Malayalam (13 awards), Marathi (9 awards), Kannada (7 awards), Bengali (6 awards), Telugu (3 awards), Meitei (1 award), Konkani (1 award), Assamese (1 award), Odia (1 award).
Winners
Indicates a joint award for that year
Award includes 'Silver Lotus' (Rajat Kamal) and cash prize. Following are the award winners over the years:
List of award recipients, showing the year (award ceremony), film(s) and language(s) and citation
For depicting with rare sensitivity, a child's growth into awareness of the coarseness and brutality of the adult world, for his silent struggle to retain his innocence and his natural sense of justice; for his poetic evocation of the child's response to the slowly unfolding mysteries of life, the trivial, the brutal and tragic being inextricable elements of human experience.
For portraying the complex role of a lonely child who is a victim of social ostracisation for no fault of his own, for bringing out the terrible emotional trauma with little dialogue and a superb economy of gesture.
For his lively and effortless performance in the role of a poor boy who has to make the difficult choice between his personal goal and his family responsibilities.
For his utterly charming and delightful portrayal of a young school going village boy who is combination of innocence and mischief, pointing to the inherent natural wisdom of the young.
For actor's natural portrayal of a disabled person. His curiosity and interests make him turn from a social outcaste into a self-learning member of community.
For his portrayal of Pulli in the film. Pulli is a very young orphan who works in a motor garage in chennai. The jury applauds the way in which Master Udayaraj brings out both the innocence and street-smartness of Pulli, with a combination of energy and spontaneity.
For covering the range from tenderness to angry defiance with consummate ease, while portraying Tingya, a boy whose love for his ox is the driving force of his young life.
For the spirited performance of a protagonist and an antagonist who are incomplete without each other. The two young shoulders carry the narrative through a delightful journey.
For demonstrating a rare maturity in his performance as he conveys his interiority. His expressive face and an obvious ability to understand the complex role of a child who invents a harrowing double life, make him an outstanding child artiste.
For performing its roles extremely well with a refreshing and credible on-screen innocence. The roles were difficult as the children not only had to rise to the challenge of interacting with one other as a gang of young kids who have to battle against a universe of adults, but also to develop their own characters, which required both humour and pathos. They played out the comic sequences with impeccable timing.
For their portrayal of inseparable siblings living in a slum who innocently struggle with rare dignity to acquire what attracts them in this vast market of products unleashed by a liberal economy only to realise the harsh reality of invincible class boundaries.
