By: Simran Mody, India Correspondent

Hindi cinema is clearly not the only film industry in India, and the National Film Awards does everything it can to ensure non-Bollywood movies are given their fair due.

After all, it is the “National” Film Awards.

While Bollywood reportedly nabbed 12 key awards this weekend for films released nearly two years ago, a Bengali movie was announced Best Film and Marathi actors earned top actor honors at the 56th Indian National Film Awards for 2008 on January 23rd.

In all, the Marathi film Jogya was announced the winner in five categories, while the Bengali flick Antaheen reportedly won in four categories. No Bollywood film earned more than two honors, according to the final award listing.

Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Antaheen, a Bengali feature film starring Sharmila Tagore, Rahul Bose and Aparna Sen, reportedly snatched Best Film honors on Saturday, while Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra was named Best Actress by the National Film Award judges for her role in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion.

“Just won the National award for fashion!!!!! Aaaaaaaahhhh!!! Too excited!! God is kind and so r all of u!! Love yalll!!!!!,” an ecstatic Chopra reportedly wrote on her Twitter account shortly after hearing the news of her award in New York City, where she is currently filming a project with Ranbir Kapoor.

Best Actor honors reportedly went to Marathi actor Upendra Limaye for his role in Jogya, while Hindi film star Arjun Rampal was announced Best Supporting Actor by award judges for his performance in Rock On!

While Bollywood definitely performed well at the 56th National Film Awards, the night clearly belonged to Bengali cinema, as Antaheen was also announced as winner of the Best Female Playback Award (Shreya Ghoshal), Best Cinematography (Avik Mukhopadhaya) and Best Lyrics (Anindya Banerjee and Chandranil Bhattacharya).

Chowdhury was impressive for the second straight year at the National Film Awards; last year, his debut feature film, Anuranan, was announced as Best Bengal Film of 2007. The film featured a similar cast to Antaheen, with Bose, Aparna Sen, Raima Sen, Riturparna Sengupta and Rajat Kapoor headlining Anuranan.

Succeeding Anuranan as Best Bengali Film of 2008 was Shob Charitro Kalponik, the National Film judges announced; it starred Prosenjit opposite Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu.

The Marathi film Jogya also fared quite well at last weekend’s National Film Awards ceremony. In addition to Limaye winning Best Actor in the 2008 film, Jogya also reportedly won four other awards, including Best Film on Social Issues, Best Music Direction and Best Male Playback Singer.

Marathi and Bengali cinemas were not the only non-Bollywood industries to be honored at the National Film Awards; the acclaimed Tamil filmmaker Bala was named Best Director by award judges for his film, Naan Kaduvul.

Other announced awards included Dibakar Banerjee’s Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! for Best Popular Film, Kangana Ranaut (Fashion) as Best Supporting Actor, and Jodhaa Akbar for Best Costume Design and Best Choreography.

Director Neeraj Pandey was announced as the Indira Gandhi Award for his dramatic thriller A Wednesday, which starred Anupam Kher and Naseerudin Shah.

Beyond the traditional Indian film markets, three filmmakers representing unique segments of the South Asian cinematic industry were also honored on Saturday, including an Assamese production.

Claiming the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration was Aai Kot Nai, an Assamese production directed by Manju Bora. The film reportedly centered on vital issues of people living in northeast India, where Assam is located.

Meanwhile, Soni Tarporwala reportedly received the Best Film on Family Values for her film about the Mumbai Parsi community, Little Zizou, which was very well-received at last year’s Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

Crossover Indian actress Nandita Das, who starred in a variety of Indian and North American productions, reportedly won two awards for her directorial debut, Firaaq; the film was adjudged favorably in the Best Editing Award and Best Art Direction categories.

Even Hollywood had a slice of success at the National Film Awards. Walt Disney India’s first foray into Bollywood, Roadside Romeo, was announced as Best Animation Film.