MUMBAI– President Droupadi Murmu presented the 71st National Film Awards in Delhi on Tuesday, honoring the best of Indian cinema across categories. The ceremony celebrated both blockbuster entertainers and socially driven films, with Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, and Vikrant Massey among the year’s top winners.
Major Awards
The coveted Best Feature Film award went to 12th Fail, produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The Best Debut Film of a Director was awarded to Ashish Avinash Bende for Aatmapamphlet, while Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani was recognized as Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Naal 2 won Best Children’s Film.
Sudipto Sen received the Best Director award for The Kerala Story, which also earned Prasantanu Mohapatra the award for Best Cinematography. Sam Bahadur was recognized as Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values, and also took home honors for Best Costume Design (Sachin Lovalekar, Divvya Gambhir, Nidhhi Gambhir) and Best Make-up (Shrikant Desai).
Acting Honors
Shah Rukh Khan (Jawan) and Vikrant Massey (12th Fail) shared the Best Actor award, while Rani Mukerji won Best Actress for her performance in Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway. Supporting role honors went to Vijayaraghavan (Pookkaalam) and M. S. Bhaskar (Parking) for Best Actor, and to Urvashi (Ullozhukku) and Janki Bodiwala (Vash) for Best Actress.
Young talents were also recognized, with Sukriti Veni Bandreddi (Gandhi Tatha Chettu), Kabir Khandare (Gypsy), and Treesha Thosar, Shrinivas Pokale, and Bhargav Jagtap (Naal 2) sharing the Best Child Artist award.
Music and Technical Awards
Shilpa Rao won Best Female Playback Singer for Chaleya from Jawan, while P. V. N. S. Rohit earned Best Male Playback Singer for “Premistunna” from Baby. Kasarla Shyam took Best Lyrics for Balagam’s “Ooru Palletooru.” Vaibhavi Merchant was awarded Best Choreography for “Dhindhora Baje Re” in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.
Other technical awards included Best Screenplay (Original) to Sai Rajesh (Baby) and Ramkumar Balakrishnan (Parking), Best Dialogues to Deepak Kingrani (Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai), Best Editing to Midhun Murali (Pookkaalam), Best Production Design to Mohandas (2018), and Best Sound Design to Sachin Sudhakaran and Hariharan Muralidharan (Animal).
Non-Feature Awards
Rishiraj Agarwal’s God Vulture and Human won Best Documentary, while Giddh (The Scavenger) by Manish Saini took Best Short Film. Utpal Datta was named Best Film Critic.
With winners spanning mainstream blockbusters, socially conscious dramas, and regional cinema, the 71st National Film Awards once again highlighted the diversity and creative energy of Indian filmmaking. (Source: IANS)
