On 17 October, the 69th National Film Awards took place at Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi, where President Draupadi Murmu honored the top achievers in the field of cinema, literature, and art.

This year's National Awards ceremony saw Marathi films taking center stage. The movie 'Ekda Kaay Zala' received the 'Best Marathi Film award, while Nikhil Mahajan claimed the 'Best Director' award for his work on 'Godavari'. Additionally, Shekhar Bapu Rankhambe, a director from Sangli, earned the Special Jury Award for his documentary 'Rekha'.

Nikhil Mahajan, the director of 'Godavari', expressed his gratitude to the entire film team by sharing a post on social media. The plot of 'Godavari' is centred around the Godavari River and reveals unique relationships throughout. The film employs a Godkatha formula to convey traditions, emotions, relational highs and lows, and life's difficulties. Viewers of 'Godavari' will also witness a clash among three generations and discover their interrelation.

The lead roles in 'Godavari' were performed by Jitendra Joshi, Gauri Nalawade, Neena Kulkarni, Sanjay Mone, Priyadarshan Jadhav, and the late actor Vikram Gokhale. Nikhil Mahajan dedicated his Best Director award to both Vikram Gokhale and director Nishikant Kamat. He reminisced that Gokhale had predicted Mahajan would win the esteemed prize on the very day the National Film Awards were revealed in August.