NEW DELHI: Akshay Kumar starrer Oh My God which was a satire on religious hypocrisy has been given the best Hindi film award for its impact on Indian socio-cultural life.

The award has been given by the Lucknow-based Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS). This is the second year that the IRDS has announced awards for films concerned primarily with social issues. A jury headed by social activist IPS officer Amitabh Thakur selected the awards.

Actor Irrfan Khan has been named the best male character for his role as the soldier-athlete turned dacoit Paan Singh Tomar. Veteran actress Sridevi gets the best female character award for her role as the linguistically troubled Shashi Godbole in the film English Vinglish.

Dibakar Banerjee gets the best director award for Shanghai presenting intricate web of politics, finance and society. Vicky Donor which deals with sperm donation and is written by Juhi Chaturvedi gets the best story award, while the "Mehngaai" song by A M Turaz from Prakash Jha‘s Chakravyuh has been named the best song for depicting the hardship of rising prices.