National Awardees Actresses are the lighthouses in the sea of Cinematic acting and a source of inspiration for many aspiring actresses. National Film Awards are recognition to the power packed performances and the various building blocks of Film Making within which cinematography, script writing, acting, direction, etc casts a shadow.

The First recipient of the National Awards has been Nargis Dutt for her spell bound performance in Raat Aur Din. Shabana Azmi has been a major contender for the National Awards over the years. She has won a total of five awards in the Best Actress category for `Ankur`, `Arth`, `Khandar`, `Paar` and `Godmother`. Smita Patil is another power packed actress of the yester years who has been able in acquiring excellence in emotive expressions. Tabu known for her bravura acting prowess in Bollywood, has been declared the Best Actress twice over. She deservedly won the National Award for her roles in `Maachis` and `Chandni Bar`.

Konkona Sen, the able daughter of multiple National Awards winning director, Aparna Sen, hardly received a carpet of gold below her feet. In fact she had to earn her position and prove her mettle. And she did exactly that by bagging two National Awards. She won an award for Best Actress for `Mr. and Mrs. Iyer` directed by her mother, and an award for Best Supporting Actress for her act in `Omkara`.

Priyanka Chopra is the new hotshot as compared to the actresses of the yesteryears. Better known as piggy chops amidst the film fraternity, she has earned the prestigious award for a number of times. After wowing the mass and the class with her performance in `Fashion`, Priyanka Chopra completed her win on a high with a National Award for Best Actress conferred upon her.

Kangna Ranaut`s role as an anxious, troubled and doped model in `Fashion` fetched her National Award for Best Supporting Actress. In conjunction with Priyanka Chopra, Kangna made the film a treat to watch and rightly deserved the award. Rekha for her unparallel acting in Umrao Jaan, Dimple Kapadia in Rudaali, Debashree Roy in Unishe April, Seema Biswas in Bandit Queen, Kirron Kher in Bariwali, Raveena Tandon in Daman, Vidya Balan in The Dirty Picture, even earned National Award. It was Debashree Roy and Indrani Halder who achieved National Award for the same film Dahan by Rituparno Ghosh. Shobana in Mitr, My Friend, Sarika in Parzania, Ananya Chatterjee in Abohoman all have been recipient of the prestigious national Award.