The 71st National Film Awards were announced today, with top honors going to some of Indian cinema’s biggest names. Shah Rukh Khan and Vikrant Massey jointly bagged the Best Actor award, while Rani Mukerji was named Best Actress.
Sudipto Sen won Best Director for his controversial yet impactful film The Kerala Story. The Best Feature Film award went to 12th Fail, directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, a powerful biographical drama starring Vikrant Massey.
Karan Johar’s rom-com Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani was honored as the Most Popular Film.
Other major recognitions included:
- Special Jury Mention: Animal
- Best Malayalam Film: Ullozhukku
- Best Tamil Film: Parking
- Best Odia Film: Pushkara
- Best Marathi Film: Shyamchi Aai
- Best Action Choreography: HanuMan (Nandu & Prithvi)
- Best Choreography: Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani (Vaibhavi Merchant)
- Best Lyricist: Kasarla Shyam (Balagam)
- Best Music Direction: G.V. Prakash (Vaathi)
- Best Background Score: Harshavardhan Rameshwar (Animal)
- Best Makeup: Srikant Desai (Sam Bahadur)
- Best Costume Design: Sam Bahadur
- Best Production Design: 2018
- Best Editing: Mithun Murali (Pookkaalam)
- Best Sound Design: Sachin Sudhakaran & Hariharan Muralidharan (Animal)
- Best Screenplay: Baby (Telugu), Parking (Tamil)
- Best Dialogue: Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai
The awards showcase the diversity and talent across Indian cinema, with Malayalam, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, and Odia films all receiving national recognition.
