<P> The first recipient was Nargis Dutt from Bollywood , who was honoured at the 15th National Film Award ( 1968 ) for her performance in Raat Aur Din . The actress who won the most number of Rajat Kamal awards is Shabana Azmi with five wins , followed by Sharada with three . As of 2016 , five actresses -- Smita Patil , Archana , Shobana , Tabu , and Kangana Ranaut -- have won the award two times . Sharada , Archana and Shobana are the only three actresses to get the award for performing in two different languages . Sharada was bestowed with the awards for her performances in two Malayalam films : Thulabharam and Swayamvaram in 1970 and 1973 respectively , and in 1979 for the Telugu film Nimajjanam . Archana was first honoured in 1988 for the Tamil film Veedu and was awarded for the second time in 1989 for the Telugu film Daasi . Shobana received her first award for the Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu in 1994 , and her second for the English film Mitr , My Friend in 2002 . As of 2016 , the late Monisha Unni remains the youngest recipient of the honour ; she was awarded for the Malayalam film Nakhakshathangal in 1987 when she was 16 . Indrani Haldar and Rituparna Sengupta are the only two actresses to be honoured for the same film . </P>
<P> The first recipient was Nargis Dutt from Bollywood , who was honoured at the 15th National Film Award ( 1968 ) for her performance in Raat Aur Din . The actress who won the most number of Rajat Kamal awards is Shabana Azmi with five wins , followed by Sharada with three . As of 2016 , five actresses -- Smita Patil , Archana , Shobana , Tabu , and Kangana Ranaut -- have won the award two times . Sharada , Archana and Shobana are the only three actresses to get the award for performing in two different languages . Sharada was bestowed with the awards for her performances in two Malayalam films : Thulabharam and Swayamvaram in 1970 and 1973 respectively , and in 1979 for the Telugu film Nimajjanam . Archana was first honoured in 1988 for the Tamil film Veedu and was awarded for the second time in 1989 for the Telugu film Daasi . Shobana received her first award for the Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu in 1994 , and her second for the English film Mitr , My Friend in 2002 . As of 2016 , the late Monisha Unni remains the youngest recipient of the honour ; she was awarded for the Malayalam film Nakhakshathangal in 1987 when she was 16 . Indrani Haldar and Rituparna Sengupta are the only two actresses to be honoured for the same film . </P>
most number of national awards for best actress
most number of national awards for best actress
Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi