As the winners of the 69th National Film Awards were announced on the eve of Wednesday, The Best Actress award was shared by two talented actresses in the new-age Hindi cinema, Alia Bhatt for Gangubai Kathiawadi and Kriti Sanon for Mimi. 

Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Gangubai Kathiawadi marked  Alia's first collaboration with the director. The film featured Alia as the eponymous character and is based on a chapter from the book Mafia Queens of Mumbai, written by S. Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges. The film tells the story of Gangu, a girl from Kathiawad in Gujarat, who is forced into prostitution but ultimately becomes the underworld queen of Mumbai's red-light area, Kamathipura. 

Meanwhile, Mimi featured  Kriti as the titular character of a surrogate mother; the film, directed by Laxman Uterkar, is a social drama based on the National Award-winning 2011 Marathi film Mala Aai Vhhaychy!