Shah Rukh Khan’s three-decade wait for a national award finally ended at the 71st National Film Awards 2025, marking a historic milestone in Indian cinema. The prestigious ceremony showcased remarkable talent with 332 feature films, 115 non-feature films, 27 books, and 16 critics’ submissions vying for top honors in these national awards.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced the winners on August 1, 2025. President Droupadi Murmu later honored the recipients at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on September 23. “12th Fail” emerged as the Best Feature Film, while veteran actor Mohanlal received the coveted Dadasaheb Phalke Award – Indian cinema’s highest recognition. Commercial and critical success merged beautifully as “Animal,” “Parking,” and “Sam Bahadur” each claimed three awards, showcasing the year’s finest cinematic achievements at the national awards.
Let me take you through the fascinating journey of the 71st National Film Awards 2025. You’ll discover the selection process, understand what set the winners apart, and see how these recognitions shape Indian cinema’s future.
How the 71st National Film Awards Were Decided
The 71st national film awards showcased glamor and prestige, but a careful selection process with strict protocols and expert reviews worked behind the scenes. The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) helped coordinate each step of this prestigious recognition system and made sure everything stayed fair and transparent.
Eligibility criteria and submission process
Filmmakers had to meet specific requirements before they could submit their work for the 71st National Film Awards 2025. The Central Board of Film Certification needed to certify all films between January 1 and December 31, 2023. The NFDC accepted online entries until September 18, 2024, and filmmakers had to submit hard copies of their applications by September 25, 2024. This timeline ensured that the 2023 national awards submissions were properly evaluated for the 2025 ceremony.
Feature films needed to be longer than 72 minutes and could be shot in digital or video format in any Indian language. International co-productions came with their own set of rules – the director had to be Indian, the Indian co-producer needed registration in India, and most of the cast and crew had to be Indian.
Each producer could submit up to seven entries across all categories. They needed to include materials like posters, promotional items, and digital copies in specific formats. Once submitted, entries went through a complete evaluation process that separated true cinematic excellence from box office success.
Role of the National Film Development Corporation
The NFDC has managed these prestigious national awards since 2021, taking over from the Directorate of Film Festivals. They have the important job of picking qualified jury members who are well-known in cinema and related arts to review submissions.
The NFDC’s key responsibility is to protect the selection process’s integrity. Neither the government nor the administration can influence which films get picked or win awards. This independence means artistic merit is the only thing that matters in 71st National Film Awards 2025.
The NFDC also handles practical tasks like organizing screenings and working with regional and central juries. They set up the award ceremony where President Droupadi Murmu gave out honors at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Structure of the central and regional juries
A sophisticated two-tier system helped evaluate entries for the 71st National Film Awards 2025. Six committees based on different geographic regions in India did the first round of reviews. Each regional jury had one chairperson and four members. The chairperson and one member came from outside that region to keep things fair.
The regions were divided by language:
North Panel: Hindi, Punjabi, Dogri, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Urdu, English
West Panel: Marathi, Gujarati, Konkani
South I Panel: Tamil and Malayalam
South II Panel: Kannada and Telugu
East Panel: Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Manipuri, and Northeastern dialects
Acclaimed director Ashutosh Gowariker led the central committee that made final decisions after regional evaluations. This top group had ten more members, including heads of each regional committee. Regional panel members or chairpersons couldn’t serve on the central jury at the same time, which helped keep evaluations independent.
Regional juries could recommend up to 10 films or 30% of their region’s entries (whichever was less) for central consideration. Jury members watched every film completely before making decisions – proof of how thorough the national awards 2025 selection process was.
This well-laid-out approach helped the 71st National Film Awards 2025 stay India’s most prestigious cinematic honor, celebrating excellence in a variety of film industries across the country.
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Mohanlal’s Legacy
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Feature Film Winners and Their Impact
The spotlight at the 71st National Film Awards 2025 definitely shone brightest on films that balanced commercial success with artistic excellence. These national awards recognized both 25-year old legends and emerging talents equally.
Best Feature Film: 12th Fail
Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s ’12th Fail’ won the highest honor at the 71st national film awards ceremony. President Droupadi Murmu presented the Best Feature Film award at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. This acclaimed work tells the story of Manoj Kumar Sharma’s inspiring trip from extreme poverty to becoming an IPS officer. His wife, IRS officer Shraddha Joshi, played a vital role in his success. The film became a sleeper hit with a modest budget of Rs 20 crore and earned Rs 69.64 crore at the box office.
Best Actor: Shah Rukh Khan and Vikrant Massey
Indian cinema witnessed a historic moment when industry veteran Shah Rukh Khan for ‘Jawan’ and rising star Vikrant Massey for ’12th Fail’ shared the Best Actor award. Shah Rukh Khan’s first national award came after three decades in the industry. ‘Jawan’ became one of Bollywood’s biggest hits over the last several years, earning over a thousand crore rupees at the box office.
Vikrant Massey’s portrayal of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma in ’12th Fail’ took him to new heights of recognition. He dedicated his award to “all the marginalized people in our society—those who are often looked through, and those who are fighting the socio-economic paradigm of our country every single day”. He called sharing this recognition with Shah Rukh Khan a “privilege”.
Best Actress: Rani Mukerji
Rani Mukerji won her first national award in her 30-year career for her compelling performance in ‘Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway’. The film draws inspiration from Sagarika Chakraborty and Anurup Bhattacharya’s real-life story. Norwegian authorities took their children away in 2011.
Critics loved Mukerji’s realistic portrayal of immigrant struggles in a foreign land. She showed a mother’s pain and determination without melodrama. Mukerji accepted this prestigious award wearing an elegant saree at the ceremony.
Best Director: Sudipto Sen
Sudipto Sen took home the Best Director award for his controversial film ‘The Kerala Story’. He called winning the national award a “surreal feeling” after facing many challenges throughout his filmmaking career. The film also won Best Cinematography thanks to Prasantanu Mahapatra’s work.
Sen dedicated his win to “the girls of Kerala” after receiving the honor from President Droupadi Murmu. He hoped his team’s efforts would “spread the message about their sufferings and bring consciousness among people”. The director said the film’s box office success felt like “a huge award” already, making the National Award 2025 a “double whammy”.
Best Popular Film: Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani
Karan Johar’s ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ won the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. This marked Johar’s third National Award in a row, following wins for ‘Shershaah’ in 2021 and ‘Brahmastra’ in 2022. The filmmaker expressed his gratitude, remembering that his first National Award came in the same category for ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ 27 years ago.
The film starred Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh, marking Johar’s return to directing since his 2016 film ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’. Vaibhavi Merchant won an additional award for Best Choreography for ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’.
Regional and Technical Excellence Recognized
The 71st National Film Awards 2025 went beyond mainstream glamor to celebrate India’s linguistic diversity. The national awards showed technical excellence in numerous categories and recognized talent from every part of the nation.
Top regional film winners across languages
The awards committee recognized outstanding films in 14 languages. Each winner received a Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus) and a cash prize of ₹2,00,000 split between the producer and director. Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery won Best Hindi Film, while Godday Godday Chaa earned the Best Punjabi Film title.
Southern cinema showed its strength through multiple wins. Parking earned Best Tamil Film, Ullozhukku (Undercurrent) won Best Malayalam Film, Kandeelu: The Ray of Hope took Best Kannada Film, and Bhagavanth Kesari claimed Best Telugu Film. (71st National Film Awards 2025)
Films from Eastern and Western regions made their mark too. Rongatapu 1982 became Assamese cinema’s best, Deep Fridge won Best Bengali Film, Pushkara earned Best Odia Film, Shyamchi Aai took Best Marathi Film, and Vash won Best Gujarati Film.
The awards reached beyond Schedule VIII languages to honor films in lesser-known tongues. Rimdogittanga won Best Garo Film and Pai Tang (Step of Hope) earned the Best Tai Phake Film award. These selections showed the committee’s dedication to India’s rich linguistic heritage.
Best cinematography, editing, and sound design
Technical excellence served as the life-blood of the 71st National Film Awards 2025, with remarkable achievements across multiple disciplines.
Prasantanu Mohapatra earned Best Cinematography for his visual storytelling in The Kerala Story. His work created imagery that lifted the film’s controversial narrative, showing how technical skill can improve storytelling.
Midhun Murali won the editing category for his work on Pookkaalam. His achievement stands out because Pookkaalam was just his second film as editor. The family drama brought unique challenges with its non-linear narrative structure. The story started as a straightforward tale but evolved to include complex flashbacks.
Murali said, “The first rough cut was close to three hours long. Then we brought it down to two hours and 40 minutes…further to the final two-hour 16-minute version”. The film’s Wes Anderson-inspired visual style needed precise editing to maintain its distinctive look.
Sachin Sudhakaran and Hariharan Muralidharan claimed the sound design award for their work on Animal. They created a soundscape that substantially improved the film’s visceral impact.
Special mentions and debut directors
The jury recognized exceptional talent through special mentions and emerging filmmakers.
M.R. Rajakrishnan earned a special mention for his work as re-recording mixer for Animal. His specialized technical contribution improved the film’s emotional depth.
New filmmakers left their mark at the awards. Ashish Avinash Bende won Best Debut Film of a Director for his Marathi film Aatmapamphlet. His win proved regional cinema’s power to find fresh voices.
Yashowardhan Mishra’s film Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery won Best Hindi Film. This absurdist comedy tells the story of “a sharp cop from a lower caste who is on a mission to find two jackfruits that go missing from a local politician’s garden”.
The 71st National Film Awards 2025 proved that Indian cinema’s excellence reaches far beyond commercial success. The awards celebrated a mixture of voices, languages, and technical innovations that define our nation’s film landscape.
Controversies and Public Reactions
The 71st national film awards celebration sparked several controversies that led to heated debates on media platforms and in political circles.
Debate over The Kerala Story’s awards
The jury’s decision to honor “The Kerala Story” with Best Director and Best Cinematography awards faced immediate criticism from Kerala’s government officials. Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticized the decision strongly. He said it “insulted the noble tradition of Indian cinema” by recognizing a film that “spreads blatant misinformation” and “sows seeds of communal hatred”. The Chief Minister believed this recognition “lent legitimacy to a narrative rooted in the divisive ideology of the Sangh Parivar”. Officials disputed the film’s central claim about 32,000 Kerala women being radicalized and sent to Syria and Yemen, stating these numbers were greatly inflated.
Urvashi’s comments on Best Supporting Actress
Veteran actress Urvashi raised questions about her Best Supporting Actress nomination for “Ullozhukku.” She competed for Best Actress alongside Parvathy Thiruvothu but received the supporting category nomination instead. “Is there any standard scale for acting? Or is it that after a certain age, this is all you’ll get?” she asked. She made her stance clear by stating, “This is not pension money to be silently accepted”. The actress wanted the jury’s criteria explained. This wasn’t her first experience with such categorization – she mentioned a similar situation with her 2006 film “Achuvinte Amma,” suggesting award politics hadn’t changed.
Social media reactions from fans and families
The national awards brought emotional moments for winners’ families who shared their joy online. Yami Gautam’s father’s first national film award moved her deeply, and she expressed her family’s pride on social media. Singer Shilpa Rao won for “Jawan’s Chaleya” and credited her parents’ support, calling their love her “backbone”. Available sources don’t extensively document fan reactions, but these family moments added warmth to an otherwise controversial awards season.
Conclusion
The 71st National Film Awards 2025 marks a defining moment in Indian cinema history. Shah Rukh Khan’s first-ever national award win alongside newcomer Vikrant Massey for Best Actor shows how these national awards connect generations by celebrating both veterans and fresh talent. Films like “12th Fail,” “Animal,” and “The Kerala Story” showed that box office success and artistic merit can go hand in hand.
NFDC’s well-laid-out jury system powers the selection process behind these prestigious national awards. Regional and central committees work together to give fair representation to films of all types. This approach has made these awards the most coveted honors in Indian cinema.
High-profile recognitions often spark debates, especially when you have films like “The Kerala Story.” These discussions reveal cinema’s vital role in shaping social conversations. Strong reactions from officials, artists, and viewers prove how deeply movies appeal to our cultural identity.
Technical excellence and regional cinema deserve their share of spotlight. Award-winning films came from 14 different languages, which showcases India’s rich linguistic heritage. Recognition for sound designers, cinematographers, and editors highlights the collaborative effort behind our movie experiences.
This celebration at Vigyan Bhawan goes beyond just giving away awards. It reflects India’s growing cinematic identity that values mass appeal and artistic merit equally. This perfect mix of tradition and state-of-the-art filmmaking will keep defining Indian cinema’s special place globally in the years ahead, as exemplified by the National Award 2025 ceremony.
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