71st National Film Award Winners

The 71st National Film Awards were announced on August 1, 2025, honoring the best of Indian cinema for the year 2023. 

The awards were announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B).

The National Film Awards,  a true benchmark of artistic and technical excellence, celebrated a diverse array of films and talents from across the country's vibrant cinematic landscape.

 The much-coveted Golden Lotus for Best Feature Film went to 12th Fail (Hindi), a powerful narrative that deeply moved the jury.

While Shah Rukh Khan clinched his maiden National Award for Best Actor for his impactful role in Jawan, Vikrant Massey was recognized for his stellar performance in the critically acclaimed film, 12th Man.

Rani Mukerji took home the Best Actress award for her compelling portrayal in Mrs. Chatterjee Vs. Norway.

 Sudipto Sen was honored with the Best Director award for his work on The Kerala Story.

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Complete List of National Film Awards (2025)

Let's dive into some of the major highlights and celebrated winners of the 71st National Film Awards:

• Best Feature Film – 12th Fail (Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra).
• Best Actor – 
• Shah Rukh Khan (Jawan)
• Vikrant Massey (12th Fail)
• 
  
• Best Actress – Rani Mukerji (Mrs Chatterjee Vs. Norway) 
• Best Supporting Actor – 
• Vijayaraghavan (Pookkalam)
• Muthupettai Somu Bhaskar (Parking)
• 
  
• Best Supporting Actress – 
• Urvashi (Ullozhukku)
• Janaki Bodiwala (Vash)
• 
  
• Best Director – Sudipto Sen (The Kerala Story).
• Best Debut Film of a Director – Aatmapamphlet (Ashish Avinash Bende, Marathi).
• Best Popular Film – Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.
• Best Children’s Film – Naal 2 (Marathi).
• Best Child Artist – 
• Kabir Khandare (Gypsy)
• Sukriti Veni Bandreddi (Gandhi Tatha Chettu)
• Treesha Thosar, Shrinivas Pokale & Bhargav Jagtap (Naal 2)
• 
  
• Best Film in AVGC – Hanu-Man (Telugu).
• Best Film promoting National, Social and Environmental Values – Sam Bahadur (Director: Meghna Gulzar).

National Award for Non-Feature Film

• Best Non-Feature Film – Flowering Man.
• Best Documentary – God Vulture and Human.
• Best Short Fiction Film – Giddh (The Scavenger).
• Best Biographical / Historical Reconstruction / Compilation Film – 
• Mo Bou, Mo Gaan (Odia),
• Lentina Ao - A Light on the Eastern Horizon (English).
• 
  
• Best Arts and Culture Film – Timeless Tamil Nadu.
• Best Animation Film – A Coconut Tree.
• Best Non Feature Film Promoting Social And Environmental Values – The Silent Epidemic.
• Best Direction – Piyush Thakur (The First Film).
• Best Debut Non-Feature Film of a Director – Shilpika Bordoloi (Mau: The Spirit Dreams of Cheraw).
• Best Narration Voiceover – Harikrishnan S (The Sacred – Jack Exploring the Tree of Wishes).
• Best Cinematography – Saravanamaruthu Soundarapandi & Meenakshi Soman (Little Wings).
• Special Mention – 
• M. K. Ramadas (Nekal – Chronicle of The Paddy Man), 
• Himansu Sekhar Khatua (The Sea & Seven Villages).

National Award for Music

• Best Male Playback Singer –  P.V.N.S. Rohit (Baby).
• Best Female Playback Singer – Shilpa Rao (Jawan).
• Best Lyrics – Kasarla Shyam (Balagam).
• Best Music Director (Songs) – G.V. Prakash Kumar (Vaathi).
• Best Music Direction (Background Music) – Harshavardhan Rameshwar (Animal).
• Best Music Direction (Songs, Non-feature film) – Pranil Desai (The First Film)
• Best Sound Design –  Sachin Sudhakaran, Hariharan (Animal).

National Award for Screenplay

• Best Screenplay (Original) – 
• Sai Rajesh Neelam (Baby),
• Ramkumar Balakrishnan (Parking).
• 
  
• Best Screenplay (Dialogue Writer) – Deepak Kingrani (Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai).
• Best Script (Non-feature film) – Chidananda S. Naik (Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know...).

National Award for Production

• Best Costume Design – Sachin, Divya, Nidhhi (Sam Bahadur).
• Best Make-Up artist –  Shrikanth Desai (Sam Bahadur).
• Best Production Design – Mohandas (2018 - Everyone is a Hero).
• Best Choreography – Vaibhavi Merchant (Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaan)
• Best Cinematography – Prasanthanu Mohapatra (The Kerala Story).
• Best Editing – Midhun Murali (Pookkaalam).
• Best Editing (Non-feature film) –  Niladri Roy (Moving Focus).
• Best Action Direction – Nandu and Prudhvi (Hanu-Man).

National Award for Regional Films

• Best Malayalam Film – Ullozhukku.
• Best Hindi Film – Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery.
• Best Tamil Film – Parking.
• Best Kannada Film – Kandeelu: The Ray of Hope.
• Best Telugu Film – Bhagavanth Kesari.
• Best Marathi Film – Shyamchi Aai.
• Best Odia Film – Pushkara.
• Best Assamese Film – Rongatapu 1982.
• Best Bengali Film – Deep Fridge.
• Best Gujarati Film – Vash.

Special Jury Award

• Special Mention – M.R. Radhakrishnan (Re-recording mixer, Animal).
• Best Film Critic – Utpal Datta.

Malayali Winners of the 71st National Film Awards

Malayalam cinema celebrated several notable victories at the 71st National Film Awards, with films and artists receiving recognition across various categories. 

 

The table below shows the Malayali Winners of the 71st National Film Awards:

Award Category	Winner	Film
Best Malayalam Film	Christo Tomy (Director)	Ullozhukku
Best Supporting Actor	Vijayaraghavan	Pookkaalam
Best Supporting Actress	Urvashi	Ullozhukku
Best Production Design	Mohandas	2018 - Everyone Is A Hero
Best Editing	Midhun Murali	Pookkaalam
Special Mention (Non-Feature Film)	M.K. Ramadas (Director)	Nekal - Chronicle of the Paddy Man
Special Mention (Re-recording Mixer)	M.R. Rajakrishnan	Animal (Hindi)

International Recognitions

• Ullozhukku: The film's screenplay won the maiden Cinestaan India's Storytellers Contest in 2018.

  Urvashi received the National Award for Best Supporting Actress, while her co-star Parvathy Thiruvothu won the Best Actress award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2024.

  It was also selected for the International Competition: Fiction strand at the 2nd Eikhoigi Imphal International Film Festival 2025. 

• Pookkaalam: The film, which won two National Awards, was also featured in the Indian Panorama section of the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
• 2018 - Everyone Is A Hero: In addition to winning Best Production Design, this film was India's official entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.
• Pookkaalam, the film which saw Vijayaraghavan win a shared Best Supporting Actor award, was featured in the Indian Panorama section of the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in 2023. 

SideNotes:

• The 'Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director' & the 'Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration' which were the part of the National Film Awards have been dropped under the recommendation of the Committee for Rationalization of Film Awards. They are retitled as 'Best debut film of a director' & 'Best feature film promoting national, social and environmental values' in 2024.
• Another change is the 'Best animation film' and 'Best special effects' have been clubbed under a new category named 'Best AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming and comics) film.'
• Urvashi's second National Award in the Best Supporting Actress' category, first one was in 2006 for 'Achuvinte Amma."

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