The award was instituted in 1976, at 24th National Film Awards and awarded annually for films produced in the year across the country, in all Indian languages. The editor with the most awards in this category is A. Sreekar Prasad with nine wins.
For thrilling sequences which are evidence of extraordinary editorial virtuosity, establishing pace and tempo, brilliantly orchestrated in relation to the swift, suspenseful action; for cutting and montage of such dexterous facility as to conceal the skill which enables the dramatic power to explode across the screen from time to time with stunning impact.
For a sensitive use of images, for gradually building up the tempo of the film in a well-knit pattern; for never permitting a slackening of pace and for underlining the whole film with a subdued sense of drama.
For being able to find an original editing vocabulary appropriate to the story in order to create a perfect blend of narrational and motivating elements.
For the sheer magic of an editing idiom, cut to perfect timing event at a breath taking pace, in sequences that often make the implausible a plausibility.
For her smart slick and innovative editing adds an artistic touch to the film. her pacing of the cuts enhance the emotions and sound overlaps lend a remarkable lucidity to the narration.
For the crisp cutting which gives a finesse to the film and the successfully sustains the tempo of the film and mood and emotion while never losing the narrative.
For recreating a unique yet dystopic mindscape of the world of ordinary gangsters in Chennai. In the editing of the film, they both play a key role in probing their psychological motives through the skillful inter-cutting of the real world of the characters with the perceived realities of the dark and deprived urban spaces that they inhabit.
For structuring the different narratives of raw cruelty and urban cunning that eventually intermingle with positive and humorous overtones through skilful editing.