September 24, 2025
NEW DELHI – After a journey spanning over three decades, the moment finally arrived when the Badshah of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, held his first National Film Award for Best Actor in his hands at the 71st National Film Awards organised at the Vigyan Bhavan, here on Tuesday. Honoured for his powerful performance in the 2023 blockbuster Jawaan, the actor shared the honour with Vikrant Massey, who received it for his role in 12th Fail. The awards were announced by the jury last month.
Congratulating her husband for the win, Gauri Khan posted on Instagram, “What a journey it’s been @iamsrk. Congratulations on winning the National Award!!! So deserving… it’s a result of your years of hardwork and dedication. Now I’m designing a special mantle for this award.”
Legendary actor, director and producer Mohanlal was conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution to the world of cinema. Calling this moment magical, Mohanlal said it was not a dream come true, but a magical moment that was sacred for him. “Cinema is the heartbeat of my soul,” he said.
At the 71st National Film Awards, honours were conferred across multiple categories in both feature and non-feature films. In the feature film segment, Rani Mukherjee was given the best Actress for Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway. Utpal Dutta from Assam was named Best Film Critic, while Best Director award went to Sudipto Sen for The Kerala Story, which also won Best Cinematography.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail was earlier declared Best Feature Film, and Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani bagged the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, along with Best Choreography for “Dhindora Baaje Re”. The Best Action Direction award went to Hanuman (Telugu), while the award for Best Lyrics was given to Balgam (Telugu).
Regional cinema was also celebrated with Bhagwanth Kesari winning Best Telugu Film, Vaash bagging Best Gujarati Film, Parking named Best Tamil Film, and The Ray of Hope adjudged Best Kannada Film.
In the music category, Shilpa Rao was recognised as Best Female Playback Singer for “Chhaliya” (Jawaan), and the Best Male Playback Singer award went to Premisthunna from Baby (Telugu). Sam Bahadur won for Best Makeup and Costume Design, while Animal received a Special Mention for re-recording mixer M R Radhakrishnan and also secured the award for Best Sound Design.
In the non-feature film section, the award for Best Documentary went to God, Vulture and Human, while The Sea and Seven Villages (Oriya) and Nekal: Chronicle of the Paddy Man (Malayalam) jointly won Best Film. The Best Script award was conferred on Sunflower Ver The First One to Know (Kannada), and The First Film (Hindi) won for Best Music Direction.