Parineeti Chopra (Reuters)
Parineeti Chopra (Reuters)

Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra who received a Special Jury Mention at the 60th National Award on Friday said that she feels driven to work harder.

The 24-year-old starlet won the biggest film award of the nation for her role in the film "Ishaqzaade" which is directed by Faisal Habib and produced by Aditya Chopra.

Parineeti played the role of a daredevil and short-tempered girl who aspires to become a politician like her on-screen father and grandfather.

After winning the award an elated Parineeti said, "I never thought I would win for Ishaqzaade but when I did, it was the biggest one in the country!! That too for my first lead role! I just cannot believe it," she told Press Trust of India.

"But this scares and humbles me, and will definitely make me work even harder in the future!! Thank you jury."

Parineeti made her debut in Bollywood in 2011 as a supporting actress in romantic comedy "Ladies VS Ricky Bahl" opposite Ranbir Singh. She won several awards for Best Female Debutant for her role in the film.

"Ishaqzaade" which also stars Arjun Kapoor was Parineeti's second film for which she received critical acclaim and was nominated for several awards.

Born to a Punjabi family on 22 October, 1988, Parineeti is Priyanka Chopra's cousin.

The others to win Special Mention at the 60th National Awards which were announced on 18 March were Lal - Ozhimuri (Malayalam), H.G.Dattatreya - Bharat Stores (Kannada), BishnuKharghoria - Baandhon (Assamese), Tannishtha Chatterjee  - Dekh Indian Circus (Hindi), Hansraj Jagtap - Dhag (Marathi) and Thilakan Ustad Hotel (Malayalam)