National Film Award for Best Exploration/Adventure Film
# National Film Award for Best Exploration/Adventure Film

The National Film Award for Best Exploration/Adventure Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards presented for non-feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus).

The award was instituted in 1984, at 32nd National Film Awards and awarded annually for films produced in the year across the country, in all Indian languages. Award is also be given as National Film Award for Best Exploration/Adventure Film (including sports).

## Winners

Award includes 'Rajat Kamal' (Silver Lotus) and cash prize. Following are the award winners over the years:

List of films, showing the year, language(s), producer(s), director(s) and citation :

| Year | Film(s) | Language(s) | Producer(s) | Director(s) | Citation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1984 (32nd) | Everest 84 | English | Cinema Vision India | Siddharth Kak | – |
| 1985 (33rd) | High Adventure on White Waters | English | Yash Choudhary | C. L. Kaul | For its depiction of the thrills of a new water sport in India. |
| 1986 (34th) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 1987 (35th) | Antarctica: A Continuing Mystery (News Magaize No: 101) | English | Vijay B. Chandra for Films Division | Mahesh Kamble (Cameraman) | For its daring and poetic coverage of scientific experiments carried out in Antarctica. |
| 1988 (36th) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 1989 (37th) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 1990 (38th) | The Indigenous of Manipur | English | Aribam Syam Sharma | Aribam Syam Sharma | For sharing the primordial joys of spontaneous sports, tracing some historic links between the traditional sports of Manipur and the world at large. |
| 1991 (39th) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 1992 (40th) | Antarctica: A Scientists' Paradise | English | R. Krishna Mohan for Films Division | A. Udayashankar | For an impressive pictorial record of achievements of our scientists on the frozen continent of Antarctica. |
| 1993 (41st) | The Splendour of Garhwal and Roopkund | English | The Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam | Victor Banerjee | For an imaginatively told and poetically picturised exploration of Garhwal and Roopkund. |
| 1994 (42nd) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 1995 (43rd) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 1996 (44th) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 1997 (45th) | In Search of Excellence | Hindi | Kuldeep Sinha for Films Division | Raghu Krishna | For a vigorous and inspiring look at Maharashtra's martially inspired popular sports including malkhamb. |
| 1998 (46th) | Malana: In Search Of | English | Neo Films | Vivek Mohan | For its in-depth and detailed unearthing of a people isolated in time. |
| 1999 (47th) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 2000 (48th) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 2001 (49th) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 2002 (50th) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 2003 (51st) | Madness in the Desert | English | Aamir Khan | Satyajit Bhatkal | For explores the spirit, the effort and the mammoth ambition behind the making of "Lagaan". The director has rendered this into a gripping and slick tale. |
| 2004 (52nd) | Shores of Silence: Whale Sharks in India | English | Gautam Pandey | Ranjana Pandey | For capturing the cruelty of fisher-man over harmless sea-creature, the whale shark, along the Gujarat coast, with a fine insight and bravado, which could bring transformation to the ignorance of the fisherfock's mindless slaughter. |
| 2005 (53rd) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 2006 (54th) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 2007 (55th) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 2008 (56th) | Shingnaba | Manipuri | Bachaspa Timayum Sunzu | Bachaspa Timayum Sunzu | For an inspiring portrayal of an HIV positive person who dramatically transforms his life and becomes a champion body builder. A first person narrative, it provides a new perspective on AIDS and our understanding of sports. |
| 2009 (57th) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 2010 (58th) | Boxing Ladies | Hindi | Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute | Anusha Nandakumar | For a sensitive portrayal of young aspiring talents in a country where sports as passion/ profession comes up against heavy social odds and family biases. The jury applauds the film for the restrained and elevating treatment of a crucial subject underlining the silent dignity of the characters involved. |
| 2011 (59th) | The Finish Line | English | Syed Sultan Ahmed and Tabassum Modi | Akshay Roy | For taking us through the running track and sensitively exploring the conflicts and travails of pursuing excellence in sports. |
| 2012 (60th) | Manipuri Pony | • English • Manipuri | Films Division of India | Aribam Syam Sharma | For tracing and presenting the historical significance of the game of polo which has its origins in Manipur. |
| 2013 (61st) | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award | No Award |
| 2014 (62nd) | Life Force – India's Western Ghats | English | Grey Films India Pvt. Ltd. | Nallamuthu Subbiah | For taking the viewer deep into the Western Ghats and engagingly revealing its rare and incredible biodiversity. |
| 2015 (63rd) | Dribbling with their Future | • English • Tamil • Kannada | • N. Dinesh Raj Kumar • Mathew Varghese | Jacob Varghese | Sporting determination against an uphill journey. |
| 2016 (64th) | Matitle Kusti | • English • Telugu | Madhavi Reddy | Prantik Vivek Deshmukh | An important film that throws light on a dying sporting tradition, told in a cinematically intimate manner. |
| 2017 (65th) | Ladakh Chale Richawala | | Films Division of India | Indrani Chakrabarti | An incredible journey on 3 wheels of an ordinary man with extraordinary dreams. |
