However, the award for Best Direction, given to Sudipto Sen for 'The Kerala Story', has stirred political ripples in Kerala.
Published Aug 01, 2025 | 11:01 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 01, 2025 | 11:01 PM
71st National Film Awards. (X)
Actor Shah Rukh Khan has bagged his first National Award for Best Actor for his role in Jawan (2023). He shared the honour with Vikrant Massey for his role in 12th Fail.
Meanwhile, Rani Mukherjee won the Best Actress Award for her performance in Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway.
The winners of the 71st National Film Awards were announced on Friday, 1 August, by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, recognising the best films and cinematic achievements of 2023.
12th Fail directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, while Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani was awarded Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
Many films, and artists from the south film industries also have won big at the 71st National Film Awards.
From the Tamil and Malayalam industries, Vijayaraghavan won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Pookkaalam, while MS Bhaskar also received the award in the same category for his role in Parking.
The award for Best Supporting Actress was given to Urvashi for her powerful performance in the film Ullozhukku.
Best Child Artist Award also has been won by Sukriti Veni Bandreddi for her performance in the Telugu film Gandhi Tatha Chettu. The award was also shared by Kabir Khandare for Gypsy (Tamil), and Treesha Toshar, Shrinivas Pokale, Bhargav for Naal 2 (Marathi).
Meanwhile, Sai Rajesh Neelam won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay for Baby, while Ramkumar Balakrishna was also honoured in the same category for Parking.
Best feature films in southern languages
In the technical categories, Mohandas received the award for Best Production Design for his work in 2018: Everyone is a Hero. The award for Best Action Choreography went to Nandu and Prudhvi for Prasanth Varma’s Hanu-Man. Midhun Murali received the award for Best Editing for his work in Pookkaalam.
In the music categories, GV Prakash was recognised with the award for Best Music Direction (Songs) for Vaathi. Kasarla Shyam won the award for Best Lyricist for the song “Ooru Palletooru” from the film Balagam. PVNS Rohit was named Best Male Playback Singer for his rendition of “Premisthunna” from Baby.
In the Non-Feature Film category, Malayalam non-feature film Nekal – Chronicle of the Paddy Man, directed and produced by M.K. Ramdas, received a special mention.
While, Chidanand Naik received the special mention for Best Script for Kannada film Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know.
In the same category, Tamil short film Little Wings brought home the award for Best Cinematography, credited to Saravanamaruthu Soundarapandi and Meenakshi Soman.
However, the award for Best Direction, given to Sudipto Sen for The Kerala Story, has stirred political ripples in Kerala.
The controversy around The Kerala Story emerged from its claim—widely discredited for lack of verifiable evidence—that 32,000 Hindu men and women were converted to Islam and radicalised in Kerala.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan congratulating Malayalam cinema for its remarkable achievements, expressed strong criticism over what he termed as the jury’s “communal bias.”
Voicing strong dissent over The Kerala Story, he alleged, that the film was made with the sole purpose of defaming Kerala and promoting communal hatred.
He said the film was rewarded despite being built on “lies” and accused the jury of insulting the legacy of Indian cinema that traditionally stood for national integration and religious harmony. “The awards jury has succumbed to the Sangh Parivar agenda of weaponising cinema for communal politics,” he alleged. “We strongly protest this. Every Malayali and all democratic believers in the country should raise their voice against this injustice,” he added.
In a statement, Vijayan also lauded veteran actors Urvashi and Vijayaraghavan for winning the Best Supporting Actress and Actor awards, saying their recognition added brilliance to Malayalam cinema’s legacy and would inspire more excellence in the industry.
Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan also came down heavily on the Union government, accusing it of politicizing the National Film Awards by recognizing The Kerala Story.
He alleged that the film’s selection was part of a larger hate campaign aimed at spreading religious animosity. “The award was given solely to propagate communal hatred. This is unacceptable,” he said in a strongly worded statement.
Condemning the move, he said the BJP and the Sangh Parivar, who are allegedly targeting Christians, have now extended their divisive politics to the realm of cinema. “They are trying to gain political mileage by circulating false narratives about Kerala. This attempt to defame the state is futile,” he added.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Dileep V Kumar, Sreelakshmi Soman, and Subash Chandra Bose)
