National Film Awards: Mansi Parekh In Tears As She Receives Best Actress Award From President Droupadi Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu led the 70th National Film Awards ceremony today, October 8, 2024, at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, where she honoured the winners for their contributions to Indian cinema. Among the highlights, she presented the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award to veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty, celebrating his decades-long career.

President Murmu also awarded Rishab Shetty the Best Actor award for Kantara, while Nithya Menen and Manasi Parekh shared the Best Actress title for Thiruchitrambalam and Kutch Express. The Best Feature Film award went to Aattam, while Gulmohar was named Best Hindi Film. The President celebrated the diversity and achievements of Indian cinema across multiple languages and regions during the ceremony​.

It was a deeply emotional moment as Mansi Parekh walked up to the stage to receive the Best Actress award at the 2024 National Film Awards. Overcome with emotion, she could barely hold back her tears. As she stood before the audience, the weight of her achievement seemed to sink in, and she broke down in front of the packed hall. President Draupadi Murmu, who presented the award, gently placed a hand on her shoulder, offering a comforting pat and quiet words of reassurance. Mansi, though visibly overwhelmed, smiled through her tears, her face beaming with gratitude.

In an exclusive interview with News18 Showsha last year, Manasi emphasised the importance of bringing Gujarati cinema into the mainstream and expanding its reach to a broader audience, “I think to gain more popularity, Gujarati cinema should explore so many more concepts and so many more stories. There are incredible geographical locations in Gujarat. For example, when we shot Kutch Express in Kutch, we tried to show Kutch as it has never been shown before in any Hindi or Gujarati film. Similarly, people have a very stereotypical notion of what Gujarati movies are or what Gujarati people are like. I think our movies should try to break those stereotypes and should try to bring out those stories to the mainstream for us to reach a wider audience,” she said.

Her production, Kutch Express, released on January 6, 2022, features a stellar cast including Ratna Pathak Shah and Darsheel Safary. Manasi Parekh not only played the lead role but also took on the role of producer for the film. The story centers on a woman’s journey to empowerment after discovering her husband’s infidelity.