The 68th National Film Awards were announced on July 22 at the National Media Centre in New Delhi. The prestigious awards were announced for films released in 2020. The awards brought great joy to the Kapoor family, as Rajiv Kapoor’s swansong won a National Award.
Rajiv Kapoor’s Toolsidas Junior won the Best Hindi Film award. Toolsidas Junior is a special movie for the entire Kapoor family as it was the last movie of Rajiv Kapoor as an actor. The movie was released posthumously after Rajiv Kapoor passed away on February 9, 2021 due to cardiac arrest. The film was released on Netflix in March 2022 after a TV premiere on Sony Max two days prior.
In an interview to Pinkvilla, Rajiv Kapoor’s brother Randhir Kapoor expressed his happiness over his brother’s film winning a National Award.
“I am very happy. It’s a very good picture. He has acted very well in the film. I am delighted. We are very happy for him. If he was there, I would have given him something,” the veteran actor was quoted as saying.
Helmed by Mridul Toolsidass, the film featured a talented star cast, including Rajiv Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt and Varun Buddhadev. It is worth mentioning that actor Varun Buddhadev got the special mention from the jury for his terrific performance in the film.
Toolsidas Junior was produced by Ashutosh Gowariker, Sunita Gowariker, Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar.
The premise of Toolsidas Junior revolved around a snooker champion (Rajiv Kapoor), whose career gets hampered due to alcoholism. Rajiv Kapoor was the son of legendary Bollywood actor-director Raj Kapoor. Toolsidas Junior marked Rajiv’s return to the big screen after almost 30 years. He last appeared in the 1990 movie Zimmedaar.
In addition to Toolsidas Junior, Ajay Devgan’s Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior and Suriya’s Soorarai Pottru won big at the National Film Awards.
