Irrfan Khan breathed his last at the age of 54.

Irrfan Khan is elated by the belated National award for best actor for his performance in Paan Singh Tomar (PST). It’s the first National award in the actor’s distinguished career. Says Irrfan, “I thought I should have got it for <em>Haasil</em> which was my first film with Tigmanshu Dhulia. Then I thought I’d get it for Mira Nair’s <em>The Namesake</em>. So it has been a fairly lengthy time-span of disappointments.”

Irrfan Khan has walked away with the National award for best actor as the celebrated sprinter turned bandit in Tigmanshu Dhulia’s much-acclaimed <em>Paan Singh Tomar</em>. Irrfan shares the honour with the redoubtable Vikram Gokhale for his performance in the Marathi film <em>Anumati</em>. <em>Paan Singh Tomar</em> also walked away with the National award for Best Feature Film. However Usha Jadhav in the Marathi film <em>Dhag</em> won the Best Actress National award over Vidya Balan’s much-touted <em>Kahaani</em>.

The prestigious 60th National Film Awards were announced yesterday (18 March 2013). Here’s let’s talk about the winners… <em>Paan Singh Tomar</em> (Hindi) directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia was declared the Best Film. Irrfan Khan has emerged as the Best Actor for his performance in the same above film.

When Paan Singh Tomar released early last year, little did one realise that the film will go on to make such a significant mark globally. A story of an Indian athlete (represented India at the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan) turned army man turned dacoit was an exciting concept for writer Tigmanshu Dhulia and Sanjay Chouhan to develop into a film. With great content, superb reviews, incredible word of mouth and a correctly targeted distribution strategy played a significant role in the film's success.

Disney UTV Studios's <em>Barfi</em> and <em>Paan Singh Tomar</em> (PST) will compete in various festivals across the globe as the Oscars, BAFTA ( British Academy of Film and Television Arts) and Golden Globe awards in various categories. After receiving critical acclaim and commercial success in India and abroad, the films, considered to be among the best of 2012, are expected to garner major international awards.