Hindi
Strike balance between entertainment and social relevance: Patil
NEW DELHI: President Pratibha Devisingh Patil today exhorted filmmakers to “consider themselves as social leaders and as stakeholders in the welfare of people as striking a balance between entertainment and social relevance is an essential call for the industry and the response will define its role in society.”
Speaking after presenting the 41st Dadasaheb Phalke award for lifetime contribution to noted filmmaker D Ramanaidu and the 57th National Film Awards for 2009, Patil said “cinema is a very potent medium for conveying a message and it has become an important factor in influencing social norms. Cinema operates within the context of a social scenario and, thus, has a stake in the stability, prosperity and progress of society.”
She said cinema had immense popularity and so there were high expectations from it to provide entertainment. Referring to the rich cultural heritage of India and the stories passed on from generation to generation through music and dance, she said “these numerous historical and cultural accounts as well as daily-life situations provide a rich resource for cinema. These stories can be told meaningfully so that value-based ideals and points of view can motivate viewers to noble goals in their lives.”
She expressed satisfaction that films continued to generate interest and attract talent and a large number of films have been entered from debut directors. “Moreover, technologies like the digital format being affordable provide an opportunity for young and budding filmmakers to experiment with the medium. I would like to appeal to all of you that, while you are experimenting with the format, you also need to keep in your mind, the content of the film you are producing. This will take your work to a wider audience.”
While appreciating the ‘good number of entries both in the feature and non-feature sections for the year 2009’, she expressed the hope that in the coming years there would be more entries in the best film critic section as well, “since film appreciation or healthy criticism is a very important aspect in the growth, understanding and development of cinema as an art form.”
Ramanaidu received a standing ovation as he was given the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the nation’s highest contribution for lifetime achievement in cinema.
There was loud applause when Amitabh Bachchan – who was present with his wife Jaya, son Abhishek and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai – went up to receive the best actor award which his third national award for his role in the film Paa.
Ananya Chatterjee got the best actress award for her role in the Bengali film Abohoman by Rituparno Ghosh who also received the best director award.
The Malayalam film Kutty Srank directed by the Shaji N Karun got the best feature film of the year award, and also four other awards in different categories.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said the year 2013 which marks a centenary of the release of India’s first indigenous feature film Raja Harishchandra will be celebrated as a centenary milestone to showcase the cinematic heritage of the Indian film industry. For this purpose a National Committee would be constituted consisting of eminent film persons and other stakeholders to suggest a comprehensive plan for making it a truly memorable event for cine lovers. The centenary celebrations would also offer an opportunity to applaud the young iconic members of the film industry for their contribution, while at the same time positioning India as a “Soft Power” at a global level.
She said the Ministry would utilize this platform to showcase India’s cinematic brilliance across the country as well as globally. As part of the centenary celebration plans, Soni said it was her endeavour to complete three institutional mechanisms to mark the occasion. These included the Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai; the National Centre of Excellence for Animation, Gaming and Visual Effects in Pune; and the National Archival Heritage Mission to cover country’s rich archival wealth by 2013. The National Archival Heritage Mission would not only safeguard the rich archival wealth, it would also ensure accessibility to the people in digital format.
Soni also outlined the process undertaken for selecting the current awards on the basis of the recommendations of an Expert Committee headed by eminent filmmaker Shyam Benegal, re-introducing the two-tier jury system and introducing new awards.
Ministers of State for I&B S Jagathrakshkan and Chowdhury Mohan Jatua, I&B Secretary Raghu Menon, Additional Secretary Rajiv Takru, and Director of Film Festivals SM Khan were also present.
In a music industry that often rewards speed, spectacle, and instant recall, Navjot Ahuja’s journey feels refreshingly different. His story is not built on noise. It is built on patience, discipline, emotional honesty, and a quiet commitment to becoming better with every passing year. After 14 years of struggle, learning, performing, and writing, Navjot stands today as an artist whose success has not changed his centre. If anything, it has only made his purpose clearer.
For Navjot, music has never been about chasing fame alone. It has always been about expression. It is about writing more truthfully, singing more skillfully, understanding himself more deeply, and becoming a kinder human being in the process. That rare clarity is what gives his journey its beauty.
Where It All Began: A Writer Before a Singer
Indian singer and songwriter Navjot Ahuja’s musical journey began in the most familiar of places: school assemblies. But even then, what was growing inside him was not only the desire to sing. It was the need to write.
Long before he saw himself as a performer, he had already discovered the emotional release that writing offered him. For Navjot, words became the first true channel for feeling. Songwriting came before singing because writing was the only way he could let emotions flow through him fully. That inner pull shaped his artistic identity early on.
Like many young musicians, he sharpened his craft by creating renditions of popular songs.
Those experiments became his training ground. But the turning point came in 2012, when he wrote his first original song. That moment did not just mark the beginning of songwriting. It marked the beginning of self-definition.
A Calling He Did Not Chase, But Accepted
What makes the latest Indian singer-songwriter Navjot’s story especially compelling is the way he describes his relationship with music. He does not frame it as a career he aggressively pursued. In his own understanding, music was not something he chose. It was something that chose him.
There was a time when he imagined a very different future for himself. He wanted to become a successful engineer, like many young people shaped by ambition and conventional expectations. But life had a different script waiting for him. During his college years, around 2021, music entered his life professionally and began taking a firmer shape.
That shift was not driven by image-building or industry ambition. It came from acceptance. Navjot embraced the fact that music had claimed him in a way no other path could. That sense of surrender continues to define the artist he is today.
An Artist Guided by Instinct, Not Influence
Unlike many singers who speak openly about idols, icons, and musical role models, Navjot’s creative world is built differently. He does not believe his music comes from imitation or inherited influence. He listens inward.
He has never considered himself shaped by ideals in the traditional sense. In fact, he admits that he does not particularly enjoy listening to songs, especially his own. His decisions as a songwriter and singer come from instinct. He writes what feels right. He trusts what his inner voice tells him. He positions his music according to what he honestly believes in, not what trends demand.
That creative independence gives his work a distinct emotional sincerity. His songs do not feel calculated. They feel alive.
The Long Years of Invisible Struggle
Every artist carries a chapter of struggle, and Navjot’s was long, demanding, and deeply formative. One of the biggest challenges he faced was building continuity as the best new indian singer songwriter in an era where musical collaboration is increasingly fluid.
For emerging singers, especially those trying to build with a band, consistency can be difficult. Instrumentalists today have more opportunities than ever to freelance and perform with multiple artists. While that growth is positive and well deserved, it can make things harder for singers who are still trying to establish a steady team and sound around their work.
For Navjot, one of the most difficult phases came during 2021 and 2022, when he was doing club shows almost every day. It was a period of relentless performance, but not always personal fulfillment. He was largely singing covers because clubs were not open to original songs that audiences did not yet know.
For a new Indian singer and songwriter, that can be a painful compromise. To perform constantly and still not have the freedom to share your own voice requires not just resilience, but restraint.
“Khat” and the Grace of Staying Unchanged
After 14 years of effort, Navjot’s new love song Khat became a defining milestone. Professionally, he acknowledges that the song changed how society viewed him as a musician. It strengthened his place in the public eye and altered his standing in meaningful ways.
Yet personally, he remains unchanged.
That is perhaps the most striking part of his story. Navjot says his routine is still the same. His calm is still the same. His writing process is still the same. He does not want success or failure to interfere with the purity of his art. For him, emotional detachment from public outcomes is essential because the moment an artist becomes too attached to validation, the writing begins to shift.
His joy comes not from numbers, but from the attempt. If he has tried to improve his skill today, if he has written his heart out more honestly than before, then he is at peace.
Growth, Not Glory, Remains the Real Goal
Even now, Navjot is not consumed by labels such as singles artist, performer, or digital success story. His focus remains deeply personal. He wants to sing better. He wants to play instruments better. He wants to understand himself more. And he wants to become a kinder person.
That is what makes Navjot Ahuja’s journey so moving. It is not simply the story of a musician finding recognition. It is the story of an artist who continues to grow inward, even as the world begins to look outward at him. In an age obsessed with applause, Navjot reminds us that the most meaningful success often begins in silence, honesty, and the courage to remain true to oneself.
