71st National Film Awards 2025: SRK receives first national award in 30-yr-long career, 'Sam Bahadur' wins big

The 71st National Film Awards took place in Delhi's Vigyan Bhawan, with President Droupadi Murmu presenting the awards to the finest talents of 2023.

Shah Rukh Khan won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in 'Jawan'. This is the superstar's first National Film Award in his 30-year-long career. He shared the award with Vikrant Massey, who won the prestigious award for his outstanding performance in '12th Fail'. 

Rani Mukherjee, on the other hand, won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in 'Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway'. Malayalam film superstar Mohanlal, also known as Lalettan, won the Dadasaheb Phalke award. He even received a standing ovation. 

Meghna Gulzar-directorial 'Sam Bahadur', which featured Vicky Kaushal in hte leading role, won the Natonal Award for Best Film. Karan Johar-directorial 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani' also won the Best Popular Film award. Sudipto Sen won the National Award for the Best Director for his controversial film 'The Kerala Story'.

Oorvashi and Janki Bodiwala won the National Award in the Best Supporting Actress category for their performances in the Malayalam film 'Ullozhukku' and the Gujarati film 'Vash', respectively. Shilpa Rao won the Best Playback Singer (female) award for 'Jawan'. Manoj Bajpayee-led 'Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai' won the award for Best Dialogue Writing. The National Award for Best Child Artists was won by Bhargav Sunita Rantakant Jagtap, Srinivas, Treesha and Kabir Shashi.

Meanwhile, technical awards included Best Costume for Divvya Gambhir and Nidhhi Gambhir, and Shrikanth Jagannath Desai for Best Makeup for 'Sam Bahadur'.  Vaibhavi Merchant won Best Choreography for 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani'. Ranbir Kapoor starrer 'Animal' was recognised for the Best Sound Design and also received a Special Mention for Re-Recording Mixer.

Prashantanu Mohapatra won the National Award for Best Cinematographer for The Kerala Story. The National Film Awards also honoured Kathal: The Jack-fruit Mystery as Best Hindi Film, recognising excellence in Indian cinema.

'Flowering Man' was named Best Non-Feature Film and received the Swarn Kamal award. These films joined a selection of winners in both artistic and technical areas, showcasing the industry's range of talent.

In non-feature films, 'The First Film', 'Giddh The Scavenger', 'Mou Baan Mou Gaan', and 'The Silent Epidemic' were honoured. Rajat Kamals went to 'Little Wings', 'Sunflowers Were the First One To Know', 'The Sacred Jack', and 'Moving Focus'.

Regional cinema was recognised with 'Bhagavanth Kesari' as Best Telugu Film, 'Parking' as Best Tamil Film and Best Screenplay Writer, 'Godday Godday Chaa' as Best Punjabi Film, 'Pushkara' as Best Odia Film, 'Shyamchi Aai' as Best Marathi Film, and 'Ullozhukku' as Best Malayalam Film.

Sai Rajesh Neelam won the Best Screenplay award for the Telugu film 'Baby'. Malayalam film '2018', which was slated to be India's official entry for the 96th Academy Awards, was recognised for the Best Production Design in the 71st National Awards. Kannan Nanduraj won Best Action Choreography for Hanu-Man. Moreover, GV Prakash won the National Film Award for Best Music Director for the Tamil film 'Vaathi'. 

Congratulating the winners, I&B ministry secretary Sabjay Jaju said: “For more than 4 decades Mohanlal has been many men on the screen, a soldier, a king, and a poet, and yet in the hearts of millions he has always been Lalettan. History is also being made today; Shah Rukh Khan’s smile has crossed all borders. He, whose dialogues have become our vocabulary, is winning his first National Award today. Vikrant Massey is also a first-time winner, and his resilience mirrors that of millions of Indians. Rani Mukerji brought alive the indomitable spirit of a mother.”