The National Film Award for Best Actress is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to an actress for the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry. The National Film Awards were called the "State Awards for Films" when established in 1954. The State Awards instituted the "Best Actress" category in 1968 as the "Urvashi Award for the Best Actress"; in 1975, the "Urvashi Award" was renamed as the "Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actress". Throughout the years, accounting for ties and repeat winners, the Government of India has presented a total of 56 Best Actress awards to 45 different actresses.
Nargis Dutt was the first-ever recipient of the Best Actress Award for her performance in Raat Aur Din in 1967.
With five wins, Shabana Azmi is the most awarded actor in this category. She is also the actress with most consecutive wins (3).
Shobana is two time winner for two different Languages -Manichitrathazhu (1993 Malayalam) and Mitr, My Friend ( 2001 English).
Nargis
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Nargis Dutt was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the finest and greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, Nargis often portrayed sophisticated and independent women. Her work was in a range of genres, from screwball comedy to literary drama, and earned her various accolades.
Kolkata, the city Nargis was born in
Portrait of Nargis from Jan Pahechan
Nargis with actors Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar in a scene from their 1949 film Andaz