71st National Film Awards | Shah Rukh Khan wins maiden honour, ‘12th Fail’ adjudged Best Film

Based on the story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar, 12th Fail also won the Best Feature Film award

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan clinched his maiden National Award for his performance in the action blockbuster Jawan, while Rani Mukerji was adjudged the Best Actress for her efforts in the emotional drama Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway. Vikrant Massey shared the National Award for the Best Actor with Shah Rukh for his performance in the hit biopic 12th Fail.

The winners of the 71st National Film Awards were declared on Friday (August 1, 2025). Honouring the best films and cinematic achievements of the year 2023, the awards were announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B).

Based on the story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar, 12th Fail also won the Best Feature Film award. Sudipto Sen won the Best Director Award for his The Kerala Story while Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahanigot the Best Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment award.

Meanwhile, Shah Rukh’s first National Award came for his portrayal of a vigilante who takes on corrupt institutions in Atlee’s action thriller Jawan. The movie, also starring Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi, crossed the ₹1000-crore mark at the box office. In Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, Rani Mukerji plays a spirited mother who battles for her children’s custody after they are snatched away by the Norwegian welfare services on unethical grounds.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal,one of the biggest blockbusters of 2023 that spurred debates and controversies, bagged three awards. The Ranbir Kapoor-starring violent drama won a Special Mention for re-recording (MR Rajakrishnan), apart from adjudged the best in Background Score (Harshavardhan Rameshwar) and Sound Designing (Sachin Sudhakaran and Hariharan Muralidharan) categories.

Vicky Kaushal’s biographical war drama Sam Bahadur,based on India’s first field marshal Sam Manekshaw, was declared the winner in the Best Film Promoting National and Social Values. The Meghana Gulzar movie also won in the Best Make Up (Shrikant Desai) and Best Costume Designer (Sachin Lovalekar, Divvya Gambir and Niddhi Gambhir) categories.

In regional cinema, Parking, directed by Ramkumar Balakrishnan, took home three awards. Apart from being picked as the Best Tamil movie, the Harish Kalyan starrer won the Best Screenplay (Ramkumar Balakrishnan) award. Seasoned actor M.S. Bhaskar was honoured with the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in the movie.

Also Read: ‘Parking’ movie review | A fantastic MS Bhaskar shoulders a simple, efficient drama on ego clash

Notably, Rishab Shetty had won the Best Actor Award for Kantara in the previous edition of the National Film Awards. Nithya Menen for Thiruchitrambalam and Manasi Parekh for the Gujarati drama Kutch Express were awarded joint winners in the Best Actress Category.

Here is the full list of winners from the 70th National Film Awards:

Feature Films

Regional Films

Telugu: Bhagavanth Kesari

Tamil: Parking

Malayalam: Ullozhukku

Kannada: Kandeelu - The Ray of Hope

Hindi: Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery

Gujarati: Vash

Best Punjabi Film: Godday Godday Chaa

Best Odia Film: Pushkara

Best Marathi Film: Shyamchi Aai

Special Mention: Re-recording: M.R. Rajakrishnan, ‘Animal’ (Hindi)

Stunt Choreography: Nandu and Prudhvi, Hanu-Man (Telugu)

Best Choreography: Vaibhav Merchant, ‘Dhindoora Baja Re’, ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani’ (Hindi)

Best Lyrics: Kasarla Shyam, ‘Ooru Palleturu’, ‘Balagam’ (Telugu)

Best Music Direction (Songs): G.V. Prakash, ‘Vaathi’ (Tamil)

Background score: Harshavardhan Rameshwar, ‘Animal’ (Hindi)

Make Up: Shrikant Desai, ‘Sam Bahadur’ (Hindi)

Costume Designer: Sachin Lovalekar, Divvya Gambir and Niddhi Gambhir, ‘Sam Bahadur’ (Hindi)

Production Design: Mohandas, ‘2018 - Everyone Is A Hero’ (Malayalam)

Editing: Midhun Murali, Pookkaalam (Malayalam)

Sound design: Sachin Sudhakaran and Hariharan Muralidharan, ‘Animal’ (Hindi)

Screenplay: Sai Rajesh Neelam, ‘Baby’ (Telugu), Ramkumar Balakrishnan, ‘Parking’ (Tamil)

Dialogue writer: Deepak Kingrani, ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ (Hindi)

Cinematography: Prasantanu Mohapatra, ‘The Kerala Story’ (Hindi)

Best Playback Singer: Shilpa Rao (Chaliya - ‘Jawan’, Hindi), Rohit (Premisthunna - ‘Baby’, Telugu)

Best Child Artist: Sukriti Bandireddi (‘Gandhi Thatha Chettu’, Telugu), Kabir Khandare (Gypsy, Tamil), Treesha Toshar, Shrinivas Pokale, Bhargav (‘Naal 2, Marathi)

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Urvashi, ‘Ullozhukku’ (Malayalam), Janki Bodiwala, ‘Vash’ (Gujarati)

Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Vijayaraghavan, ‘Pookkaalam’ (Malayalam), MS Bhaskar, ‘Parking’ (Tamil)

Best Actress: Rani Mukerji, ‘Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway’ (Hindi)

Best Actor: Shah Rukh Khan, ‘Jawan’ (Hindi), Vikrant Massey, ‘12th Fail’ (Hindi)

Best Direction: Sudipto Sen, ‘The Kerala Story’ (Hindi)

Best Film in AVGC: ‘Hanu-Man’ (Telugu)

Best Children’s Film: ‘Naal 2’ (Marathi)

Best Film Promoting National, Social Values: Sam Bahadur (Hindi)

Best Debut Film: ‘Aatmapamphlet’ (Hindi)

Best Feature Film: ‘12th Fail’ (Hindi)

Non-Feature Films

Special mentions: M.K. Ramadas, ‘Nekal – Chronicle of the Paddy Man’ (Malayalam), Himansu Sekhar Khatua (Director), Kadambini Media Pvt Ltd (Producer) ‘The Sea and the Seven Villages’

Best Script: Chidanand Naik, ‘Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know’ (Kannada)

Best Voiceover: Hari Krishnan S. ‘The Sacred Jack – Exploring The Tree of Wishes’ (English)

Best Music Direction: Pranil Desai ‘The First Film’ (Hindi)

Best Editing: Niladri Roy ‘Moving Focus’ (English)

Best Sound Design: Shubarun Sengupta ‘Dhundhgiri Ke Phool’ (Hindi)

Best Cinematography: Meenakshi Soman, Saravanamaruthu ‘Little Wings’ (Tamil)

Best Direction: Piyush Thakur, ‘The First Film’ (Hindi)

Best Short Film: Manish Saini (Director), Ellanar Films (Producer), ‘Giddh The Scavenger’ (Hindi)

Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values: ‘The Silent Epidemic’ (Hindi), Akash Gupta (Director), ‘Cinema4good Pvt. Ltd. Raahgiri Foundation’ (Producer)

Best Documentary Film: ‘God Vulture and Human’ (English, Hindi & Telugu), Rishiraj Agarwal (Director), Studio Lichi, Dr Rajesh Chandwani (Producer)

Best Art/Culture Film: ‘Timeless Tamil Nadu’ (English), Kamakhya Narayan Singh (Director), Celebrities Management Private Limited (Producer)

Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction Film: ‘Mo Bou Mo Gaan, Lentina Ao’ (Odia’), Sanjib Parasar (Director), NFDC (Producer)

Best Debut Film: ‘The Spirit Dreams of Cheraw’ (Mizo), Shilpika Bordoloi (Director)

Best Non-Fiction Film: ‘Flowering Man’ (Hindi), Soumyajit Ghosh Dastidar (Director), Film and Television Institute of India (Producer)

Best Film Critic: Utpal Datta (Assamese)