The National Film Awards 2019 were announced on August 9 celebrating the best of Indian cinema. The big honours went to Ayushmann Khurrana's Andhadhun this year as the film won not only won him the Best Actor award but the film also won the Best Hindi Film honour. Ayushmann had a splendid 2018 with back to back successes of Andhadhun and Badhaai Ho and now both films have got massive recognition at the prestigious awards. Badhaai Ho also won the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. We bet the actor is on cloud nine currently knowing that his hardwork has paid off with some great fruits this year. National Film Awards 2019: Ayushmann Khurrana and Tabu's AndhaDhun Wins Best Film in Hindi Language, Best Actor, Adapted Screenplay. 

Ayushmann will be sharing his Best Actor win with Vicky Kaushal for Uri and from the winners list this year, it has been clear that Bollywood has had some major impact. Thrilled with the big announcement of his win, the actor has now released a statement thanking his fans, his co-workers and directors for giving him these great opportunities.

He said, "It’s truly humbling and hugely gratifying to win the coveted National Awards. As an artist, I have always tried to back disruptive content that stands out for its quality content. Today’s honour is a validation of my hard work, my belief system, my journey in movies and my reason to be an actor in the first place. Over and above my personal win, I’m thrilled that both the films that I have done - AndhaDhun and Badhaai Ho have won at the prestigious National Awards. It again validates that people of our country want to see cinema that entertains, that they can cherish, discuss and endorse."National Film Awards 2019 Complete Winners List: Bollywood's Andhadhun, Padmaavat and Uri Win Big, KGF Bags Best Action.

The actor couldn't thank Andhadhun director Sriram Raghavan enough as he was all praises for him saying, "AndhaDhun is a path-breaking film and Sriram Raghavan deserves all the accolades for creating a new genre of cinema for Indian audiences to enjoy. I have been truly fortunate to be a part of Sriram Raghvan’s vision and congratulate my director for his genius. As an artist, AndhaDhun challenged me and I strongly feel it made me a better actor."

Ayushmann's other film, Badhaai Ho was a significant film in 2018 mainly for dealing with a subject that has never been touched before in Bollywood. With a great cast consisting of actors such as Neena Gupta, Surekha Sikri, Gajraj Rao and Sanya Malhotra among others, the film was loved by the audiences for its sincerity. Speaking about the film's win, Ayushmann said, "With Badhaai Ho again I took up a taboo topic because I believed that people would be ok to see this kind of cinema. I’m glad that a subject like Badhaai Ho also won big today and I congratulate my director Amit Sharma for his breakthrough script that became a talking point in every household. It was a pleasure to collaborate with a forward thinking creative mind like him and again disrupt the stereotyped notions of what Hindi cinema should be."

The actor has already started off 2019 with a bang with his recent film Article 15 and promised to keep up his hardwork saying, "I will continue on this journey to discover and back cinema that truly stands apart and brings people back into the theatres."

Ayushmann's upcoming films include a gay love story titled Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and Gulabo Sitaabo with Amitabh Bachchan.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 09, 2019 05:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).