EXCLUSIVE: Priyadarshan: Jury considered Akshay's performance on both the films Rustom and Airlift

Jury member Priyadarshan confirmed that Akshay Kumar won the National Award for his performance in both the films Airlift and Rustom.

By Aishwarya V

Updated on Apr 09, 2017 | 05:40 PM IST | 2.3M

Akshay Kumar surprised us all for winning a National Award for his performance in the film Rustom, today. That's right, the 64th National Film Awards proved lucky for Akshay as he, for the very first time, bagged the very prestigious award at the ceremony. Akshay and Sonam Kapoor, whose film Neerja also won an award, shared a picture from their shoot location at Maheshvar, showing shocked expressions. Sonam wrote, "Very grateful for the special jury award for Neerja and the best film award!! So excited for it! Thank you to the jury."

After the news sank in, Akshay shared a thankful message on his social media handle saying, "Thank you is a small word. But I don't know how else to express myself. I am truly humbled by this honour. I would like to thank National Award jury and all the fans from the core of my heart for believing in my talent. Rustom was a special role to play. Apne desh ke Navy ki uniform pehen paana apne aap main hi special baat hai. Aur is National Award ne usko aur bhi special bana diya hai. I would like to dedicate this award to the blessings of my parents and my lovely family, especially to my wife who always keeps telling me acha hua tumne award functions main jaana chhod diya kabhi kuch milta toh hai nahi. Khair... Der aaye durst aaye, kuch toh aaye."

Akshay's win got mixed reactions from Twitter to as to whether it was a truly deserving win. There was also a confusion as to whether Akshay won the award for Rustom or Airlift. However, filmmaker Priyadarshan who headed the 11 member Jury clarified the issue. He said, "Jury considered his performance on both the films - Airlift and Rustom - but the rule book says only one film's name can be mentioned, so it's Rustom."

So there, no more confusion on that front and many congratulations to Akshay on the big win!