themes. On 26 September 1992, K. Vijayan of New Straits Times wrote, "Under Mani Ratnam's direction, Arvind and Madhoo gave their best ... The excellent photography by Santhosh Sivan [who was also the cameraman for Thalapathi] makes us appreciate the beauty we take for granted in the villages. The snow-capped mountains and flower-covered valleys of Kashmir are also an eyeful." Writing for The Indian Express, Malini Mannath compared Roja unfavourably to Held Hostage; she praised Arvind Swami's performance, calling him "dignified and natural", but criticised Madhubala's performance in the scenes where Roja pleads for her husband's rescue, saying, "Her tremulous whisper praying for help, sounds contrived". She also felt that Pankaj Kapoor looked "lost in his role", but lauded the cinematography by Santosh Sivan and the editing by Suresh Urs. T. N. Seshan, then the Chief Election Commissioner of India declared, "This is a film that every Tamilians should see." S. R. of Kalki wrote "Amazing cinematography, superb direction, heart touching songs, lilting music (debutant Rahman), humorous and strong dialogues, natural acting + good story". Box office Roja emerged a commercial success in the Tamil market. The Hindi dubbed version of the film was also an equal success. Awards 1993 National Film Awards (India) Won – Silver Lotus Award – Best Music Director – A. R. Rahman Won – Silver Lotus Award – Best Lyricist – Vairamuthu Won – Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration Madhoo's performance took her close to winning in the category of Best Actress, but she eventually lost to Dimple Kapadia. 1993 Filmfare Awards South Won – Filmfare Best Movie Award (Tamil) – Roja Won – Filmfare Best Music Director Award (Tamil) – A. R. Rahman 1993 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards (India) Won – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film Won – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Director – Mani Ratnam Won – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Music Director – A. R. Rahman Won – Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize – Madhoo Won – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Minmini 1993 Shantaram Awards Won – Best Director – Mani Ratnam 1993 Moscow International Film Festival (Russia) Nominated – Golden St. George (Best Film) – Mani Ratnam Bite the Mango Film Festival (United Kingdom) Featured screening and premiere – Roja Wangfujing Film Festival (Beijing) Special screening –