Malayalam cinema wins four honours at National Film Awards; Urvashi and Vijayaraghavan get best supporting actor awards

Urvashi wins the best supporting actor (female) for her performance in Ullozhukku and Vijayaraghavan wins the award for the best supporting actor (male) for Pookkaalam, although technically both of them played the lead roles in these films

Malayalam cinema did not exactly shine at the National Film Awards for the year 2023, which was declared on Friday, but the nods to a few deserving winners brought a lot of cheer to the industry.

Urvashi won the best supporting actor (female) for her performance in Ullozhukku and Vijayaraghavan won the award for the best supporting actor (male) for Pookkaalam, although technically both of them played the lead roles in these films.

Ullozhukku, directed by Christo Tomy, won the award for the best Malayalam film. Art director Mohandas Pallakkotti won the best production design award for the film 2018, in which he recreated the floods that hit Kerala in 2018. The technically solid recreation of the floods in a set built on an empty plot elevated the film.

Midhun Murali won the award for the best editor for his seamless work in Pookkaalam.

In Ullozhukku, Urvashi plays Leelamma, who shares a fraught relationship with her daughter-in-law. Devastated by the death of her son and caught amid the revelation of unpleasant truths, the woman digs deep into her reserves of strength to navigate the troubled waters.

Urvashi delivers a masterclass of controlled acting, with her use of subtle gestures, adding uncommon depth to the scenes. The performance won her the Kerala State Film Award for the best female actor for a record-setting sixth time.

Vijayaraghavan, another seasoned performer, is in the middle of a rewarding period in his long career, with a bunch of roles that challenged the actor in him. In Pookkalam, he plays the almost 100-year-old Ittoop who discovers an old letter on the day of his granddaughter’s betrothal, a letter which threatens to cast a cloud on the happy occasion, bringing up to the surface the family’s buried secrets.

Vijayaraghavan, along with KPAC Leela, put in moving performances as a couple who are facing a crisis late in their lives. He was able to make the age of the character believable through minutely portrayed movements of the body.

In the non-film category, M.K. Ramdas won a special mention for the documentary Nekal-Chronicle of the Paddy Man.