Thiruvananthapuram, March 8 (IANS): Acclaimed director Priyadarshan will chair the jury of the 64th National Film Awards, industry sources have told IANS.

On being contacted, Priyadarshan said this is the first time that he has got this honour.

"I am definitely excited and happy and it's going to be a big responsibility bestowed on me. I will do my best," the 60-year-old director said.

IANS contacted officials in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, but they declined to comment.

Priyadarshan said he is confident of doing the job with utmost ease as he has been around in the industry for 35 years, and has directed 91 films in various languages.

Incidentally, the director himself has an impressive list of National Film Awards in his kitty. 

He got the Best Feature Film honour in 2007 for "Kanchivaram". Besides this, his epic 1996 Malayalam film "Kaalapani", which told the story of freedom fighters in the jail at Andaman and Nicobar Islands, won three National Film Awards, including the awards for Best Art Direction (Sabu Cyril), Best Special Effects (S.T. Venky), and Best Cinematography (Santosh Sivan).