Director Bala dedicates his National Award to Balu Mahendra

"It was Balu Mahendra who had groomed me and Akila Balu Mahendra had taken care of me like a mother - they  are the reason behind such an honour. Without them I would have not achieved this feat," Bala, who has so far directed four films, told reporters.

Though this is Bala's first National Award as a director, his film "Pithamagan" had fetched best actor National Award for its lead actor Vikram.

Bala is, however, disappointed that Ilayaraja, Arya and Pooja, who had worked in "Naan Kadavul", haven't got any award. “I was quite confident that they would get the awards," he said. He also says that he is happy about winning the coveted award, but insists that he doesn't make films for awards.