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PUNE: Pune has made its presence felt at the 56th National Film Awards for 2008 with actor Upendra Limaye bagging the coveted best actor award Twitter Facebook Share Email Print Save Comment for the Marathi film, 'Jogwa.'

Filmmaker Sachin Kundalkar and music composers Ajay-Atul — big names in the Marathi film industry and who hail from Pune — are among the recipients of the awards.

The Rajiv Patil-directed film, 'Jogwa,' based on the trials and tribulations of rural men and women who are forced by society to "beg and serve God", has pocketed five honours: best film on social issues, best playback singers (male and female) to Hariharan and Shreya Ghoshal and best music direction to Ajay-Atul.

The National Awards jury observed that Limaye was chosen for his restrained yet powerful depiction of a complex character, the 'jogta' who dresses up as a woman and seeks alms, in 'Jogwa.' "This role has been the most important in my career so far. I consider it my dream role because acting as a 'jogta' put my acting abilities to the test. And I think I have done justice to this role," Limaye told TOI on Saturday.

The film has so far received 65 nominations and won 35 awards at the state-level. "But the national awards are our first recognition nationally. Also, the film has appealed to both grassroots-level audiences and urban intellectuals," he said.