Tamil cinema has bagged its second Gollapudi Srinivas National Award with the 22nd edition's award announced to be granted to director C Prem Kumar for last year's 96.

The Vijay Sethupathi-Trisha-starrer is a romance film about two star-crossed lovers meeting years later at a reunion. The film, swinging between past and present, whips up nostalgia, whilst delivering a mature love story between a reclusive man and a woman who's seemingly not moved on.

96 is only the second Tamil film to bag this prestigious award after 2001's Kutty, directed by Janaki Viswanathan. The winner is chosen from 10 films across the country, and the award will be presented at a ceremony to be held on 12th August 2019 and, along with a cash prize of Rs. 1,50,000 and a memento.

The last winner of Gollapudi Srinivas Award, established in 1998 to appreciate debut directors, was Konkana Sen Sharma for A Death In The Gunj (2017).