New Delhi:  Veteran director Shekhar Kapur has been appointed chairman of the central panel of the 65th National Film Awards, sources in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said today.

The central panel comprises a chairperson and 10 other members, including five regional chairpersons who head the respective regional panels.

Film writer Imtiaz Hussain, known for his works in films like "Astitva" (2000) and "Parinda" (1989) will be the regional chairperson of South I panel. Mehboob, who penned the lyrics for the Hindi (dubbed) version of 1995 Tamil romantic drama "Bombay", was appointed as the regional chairperson of South II panel, the sources said.

Actress Gautami Tadimalla, who is known for her work in Tamil films, is the regional chairman of the North panel, while director Rahul Rawail known for films like "Love Story" (1981), "Betaab" (1983), "Arjun" (1985) and "Jo Bole So Nihaal" (2005), was chosen as the regional chairperson of the Western panel, they said.

Director P Sheshadri, a known name in Kannada cinema, is the regional chairperson of Eastern panel.

Other members of the panel include Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, a Bengali and Hindi film director; playwright Tripurari Sharma; dialogue and script writer Rumi Jaffery; Ranjit Das known for the critically acclaimed film "Pratyavartan"; and film writer, director and producer Rajesh Mapuskar, the sources added.