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The recipients of the 71st National Film Awards for 2023 were declared today by the respective juries. The awards this time around received 332 entries in feature films, 115 in non-feature films, 27 books, and 16 critics’ submissions. The declaration was made by Shri Ashutosh Gowariker (Chairperson, Feature Film Jury), Shri P. Sheshadri (Chairperson, Non-Feature Film Jury), and Dr. Ajay Nagabhushan MN, Joint Secretary (Films). Present on the occasion were also Ms. Mattu J. P. Singh, Director General, PIB. 12th Fail has been awarded the Best Feature Film at the 71st National Film Awards.
71st National Film Awards for the Year 2023
The 71st National Film Awards, recognising India’s best cinema of 2023, have been announced, with a flood of congratulations and accolades for a wide variety of movies and artists. The awards, the most highly regarded cinematic award in the nation, represented a mix of box office records, critical success, and low-budget filmmaking, proving once again the booming and dynamic state of India’s film industry.
71st National Film Awards 2025 Winners List
Here is a comprehensive list of the 71st National Film Awards Winners, announced on 1 August 2025 in New Delhi, celebrating Indian cinema from 2023. One of the most notable spots in this year’s awards was the surprise joint win in the Best Actor award, along with a strong presence from both mainstream blockbusters and local cinematic jewels. A complete list of the 71st National Film Awards Winners is provided below.
Major Honours and Key Highlights of the 71st National Film Awards
| Key Highlights of 71st National Film Awards 2025 | |
| Best Feature Film | 12th Fail |
| Best Actor (Leading Role) |
|
| Best Actress (Leading Role) | Rani Mukerji for Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway |
| Best Hindi Film | Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery |
| Best Popular Film | Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani |
| Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values | Sam Bahadur |
71st National Film Awards 2023: Best Writing on Cinema
Award for Best Film Critic
| Sr. No. | Name of Critic | Language | Medal and Cash Prize |
| 1. | Utpal Datta | Assamese | Swarna Kamal and Rs. 1,00,000/- |
71st National Film Awards 2023: Non-Feature Films Section
| S. No. | Category of Award | Title of the Film | Awardee | Medal & Cash Prize |
|
1. |
Best Non-Feature Film |
Flowering Man (Hindi) |
Producer: Film and Television Institute of India Director: Soumyajit Ghosh Dastidar |
Swarna Kamal
Rs. 3,00,000/- (each) |
| 2. | Best Debut Film of A Director | Mau: The Spirit Dreams of Cheraw
(Mizo) |
Director: Shilpika Bordoloi | Swarna Kamal
Rs. 3,00,000/- |
| 3. | Best Biographical / Historical Reconstruction / Compilation Film | Mo Bou, Mo Gaan
(Odia) |
Producer: Kicksy Wicksy Films
RNV 1820 Films Director: Subash Sahoo |
Rajat Kamal
Rs 2,00,000/- (Shared) |
| Lentina Ao – A Light on the Eastern Horizon
(English) |
Producer: NFDC
Director: Sanjib Parasar |
|||
| 4. | Best Arts / Culture Film | Timeless Tamil Nadu
(English) |
Producer: Celebrities Management Private Limited
Director: Kamakhya Narayan Singh |
Rajat Kamal
Rs 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 5. | Best Documentary | God Vulture and Human
(English, Hindi & Telugu) |
Producer: Studio Lichi
Dr. Rajesh Chandwani Director: Rishiraj Agarwal |
Rajat Kamal
Rs 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 6. | Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values | The Silent Epidemic
(Hindi) |
Producer: Cinema4good Pvt Ltd
Raahgiri Foundation Director: Akshat Gupta |
Rajat Kamal
Rs 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 7. | Best Short Film (Up to 30 Min) | Giddh The Scavenger
(Hindi) |
Producer: Ellanar Films
Director: Manish Saini |
Rajat Kamal
Rs 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 8. | Best Direction | The First Film
(Hindi) |
Director: Piyush Thakur | Swarna Kamal
Rs 3,00,000/- |
| 9. | Best Cinematography | Little Wings
(Tamil)
|
Cinematographer: Saravanamaruthu
Soundarapandi & Meenakshi Soman
|
Rajat Kamal
Rs 2,00,000/- (shared) |
| 10. | Best Sound Design | Dhundhgiri Ke Phool
(Hindi) |
Sound Designer: Shubharun Sengupta | Rajat Kamal
Rs 2,00,000/- |
| 11. | Best Editing | Moving Focus
(English) |
Editor: Niladri Roy | Rajat Kamal
Rs 2,00,000/- |
| 12. | Best Music Direction | The First Film
(Hindi) |
Music Director: Pranil Desai | Rajat Kamal
Rs 2,00,000/- |
| 13. | Best Narration/ Voice Over | The Sacred Jack – Exploring The Tree of Wishes
(English) |
Narrator: Harikrishnan S | Rajat Kamal
Rs 2,00,000/- |
| 14. | Best Script | Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know…
(Kannada) |
Script Writer: Chidananda Naik | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- |
| 15. | Special Mention | Nekal – Chronicle of The Paddy Man
(Malayalam) |
Director & Producer: M K Ramadas | Certificate (each) |
| The Sea And Seven Villages
(Odia) |
Producer: Kadambini Media Pvt. Ltd.
Director: Himansu Sekhar Khatua |
Certificate (each) |
71st National Film Awards 2023: Feature Films Section
| S. No. | Category of Award | Title of The Film | Awardee | Medal & Cash Prize |
| 1. | Best Feature Film | 12th Fail
(Hindi) |
Producer: VC Films LLP
Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra |
Swarna Kamal
Rs. 3,00,000/- (each) |
| 2. | Best Debut Film of a Director | Aatmapamphlet
(Marathi) |
Director: Ashish Bende |
Swarna Kamal
Rs. 3,00,000/- |
| 3. | Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani
(Hindi) |
Producer: Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd.
Director: Karan Johar |
Swarna Kamal
Rs. 3,00,000/- (each) |
| 4. | Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social, and Environmental Values | Sam Bahadur
(Hindi) |
Producer: Unilazer Ventures Private Limited
Director: Meghna Gulzar |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 5. | Best Children’s Film | Naal 2
(Marathi) |
Producer: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.
Aatpat Productions Director: Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti |
Swarna Kamal
Rs. 3,00,000/- (each) |
| 6. | Best Film in AVGC
(Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming & Comic) |
Hanu-Man
(Telugu) |
Producer: Primeshow Entertainment Pvt Ltd
Director: Prasanth Varma |
Swarna Kamal
Rs. 3,00,000/- (each) |
| Animator: Jetty Venkat Kumar | Swarna Kamal
Rs. 3,00,000/- |
|||
| VFX Supervisor: Jetty Venkat Kumar | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- |
|||
| 7. | Best Direction | The Kerala Story (Hindi) | Director: Sudipto Sen | Swarna Kamal
Rs. 3,00,000/- |
| 8. | Best Actor in a Leading Role
|
Jawan
(Hindi) |
Actor: Shah Rukh Khan | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (Shared)
|
| 12th Fail
(Hindi) |
Actor: Vikrant Massey | |||
| 9. | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Mrs. Chatterjee V/s Norway
(Hindi) |
Actress: Rani Mukerji | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- |
| 10. | Best Actor in a Supporting Role
|
Pookkaalam
(Malayalam) |
Supporting Actor: Vijayaraghavan |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (Shared) |
| Parking
(Tamil) |
Supporting Actor: Muthupettai Somu Bhaskar | |||
| 11. | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Ullozhukku
(Malayalam) |
Supporting Actress: Urvashi |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (Shared) |
| Vash
(Gujarati) |
Supporting Actress: Janki Bodiwala | |||
| 12. | Best Child Artist | Gandhi Tatha Chettu
(Telugu) |
Child Artist: Sukriti Veni Bandreddi |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (Shared)
|
| Gypsy
(Marathi) |
Child Artist: Kabir Khandare | |||
| Naal 2
(Marathi) |
Child Artist: Treesha Thosar, Shrinivas Pokale & Bhargav Jagtap | |||
| 13. | Best Male Playback Singer | Baby (Premisthunna)
(Telugu) |
Singer: PVN S Rohit | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- |
| 14. | Best Female Playback Singer | Jawan (Chaliya)
(Hindi) |
Singer: Shilpa Rao | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- |
| 15. | Best Cinematography | The Kerala Story
(Hindi) |
Cinematographer: Prasantanu Mohapatra | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- |
| 16. | Best Screenplay | Baby
(Telugu) |
Screenplay Writer (Original): Sai Rajesh Neelam |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (Shared) |
| Parking
(Tamil) |
Screenplay Writer (Original): Ramkumar Balakrishnan
|
|||
| Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai
(Hindi) |
Dialogue Writer: Deepak Kingrani | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- |
||
| 17. | Best Sound Design | Animal
(Hindi) |
Sound Designer: Sachin Sudhakaran
Hariharan Muralidharan |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (Shared) |
| 18. | Best Editing | Pookkaalam
(Malayalam) |
Editor: Midhun Murali | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- |
| 19. | Best Production Design | 2018-Everyone Is A Hero
(Malayalam) |
Production Designer: Mohandas | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- |
| 20. | Best Costume Designer | Sam Bahadur
(Hindi) |
Costume Designer: Sachin Lovalekar, Divvya Gambhir, and Nidhhi Gambhir | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (Shared) |
| 21. | Best Make-up | Sam Bahadur
(Hindi) |
Make-up Artist: Shrikant Desai | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- |
| 22. | Best Music Direction |
Vaathi
(Tamil) |
Music Director (Songs): G V Prakash Kumar
|
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/-
|
|
Animal
(Hindi) |
Music Director (Background Music): Harshavardhan Rameshwar | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- |
||
| 23. | Best Lyrics | Balagam (Ooru Palleturu)
(Telugu) |
Lyricist: Kasarla Shyam | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/-
|
| 24. | Best Choreography | Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (Dhindhora Baje Re)
(Hindi) |
Choreographer: Vaibhavi Merchant | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/-
|
| 25. | Best Action Direction Award (Stunt Choreography) | Hanu-Man (Telugu) | Stunt Choreographer: Nandu Prudhvi | Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (Shared) |
|
Best Feature Film in each of the languages specified in Schedule VIII of the Constitution |
||||
| 26. | Best Assamese Film
|
Rongatapu 1982 | Producer: BRC Cine Production
Director: Adityam Saikia |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 27. | Best Bengali Film
|
Deep Fridge | Producer: Colors of Dream Entertainment
Director: Arjun Dutta |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 28. | Best Gujarati Film | Vash | Producer: Big Box Series Pvt Ltd
K S Entertainment LLP
Director: Krishnadev Yagnik |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 29. | Best Hindi Film
|
Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery | Producer: Netflix Entertainment Services Pvt. Ltd.
Balaji Telefilms Ltd Sikhya Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
Director: Yashowardhan Mishra
|
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 30. | Best Kannada Film
|
Kandeelu – The Ray of Hope | Producer: Swastik Entertainment
Director: K Yashoda Prakash |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 31. | Best Malayalam Film | Ullozhukku (Undercurrent) | Producer: Unnilazer Ventures Pvt Ltd
Macguffin Pictures
Director: Christo Tomy |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 32 | Best Marathi Film | Shyamchi Aai | Producer: Amruta Films
Director: Sujay Sunil Dahake |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 33. | Best Odia Film
|
Pushkara | Producer: Tarang Cine Productions
Director: Subhransu Das |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 34. | Best Punjabi Film |
Godday Godday Chaa |
Producer: VH Entertainment
Zee Studios
Director: Vijay Kumar Arora |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 35. | Best Tamil Film
|
Parking | Producer: Soldiers Factory
Passion Studio
Director: Ramkumar Balakrishnan |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 36. | Best Telugu Film
|
Bhagavanth Kesari (I Don’t Care) | Producer: Shine Screens (India) LLP
Director: Anil Ravipudi |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| Best Feature Film in each of the Languages other than those specified in Schedule VIII of the Constitution | ||||
| 37. | Best Garo Film | Rimdogittanga | Producer: Anna Films
Uncombed Buddha
Joicy Studio
Director: Dominic Megam Sangma |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 39. | Best Tai Phake Film | Pai Tang
Step Of Hope |
Producer: Naba Kumar Bhuyan
Director: Prabal Khaund |
Rajat Kamal
Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 40. | Special Mention | Animal (Re-Recording Mixer)
(Hindi) |
M R Rajakrishnan | Certificate |
71st National Film Awards 2023 Jury
FEATURE FILMS JURY
| CENTRAL PANEL | |
| S. No. | Name of the Jury |
|
|
Sh. Ashutosh Gowariker (Chairperson) |
|
|
Sh. M N Swamy (Member) |
|
|
Ms. Geeta M. Gurappa (Member) |
|
|
Dr. V N Aditya (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Aneesh Basu (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Paresh Vora (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Sushil Rajpal (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Vivek Pratap (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Pradeep Nair (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Maniram Singh (Member) |
|
|
Ms. Prakruti Mishra (Member) |
Regional Jury
| NORTH PANEL | |
| S. No. | Name of the Jury |
|
|
Sh. Jose Antony Palackapillil (Chairperson) |
|
|
Sh. Chethan Mundadi (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Kamlesh Kumar Mishra (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Niraj Kumar Mishra (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Pramod Kumar (Member) |
| EAST PANEL | |
| S. No. | Name of the Jury |
|
|
Sh. Shivadhvaj Shetty (Chairperson) |
|
|
Dr. Bobby Sarma Baruah (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Oinam Doren (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Sukumar Nandlal Jatania (Member) |
| 5 | Sh. Tushar Kanti Bandyopadhyay (Member) |
| WEST PANEL | |
| S.No. | Name of the Jury |
|
|
Sh. Tushar Hiranandani (Chairperson) |
|
|
Ms. Chirantana Bhatt (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Mandar Talauliker (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Praveen Morchhale (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Shivaji Lotan Patil (Member) |
| SOUTH I PANEL | |
| S.No. | Name of the Jury |
|
|
Sh. Abhijeet Shirish Deshpande (Chairperson) |
|
|
Sh. Manoj C D (Member) |
|
|
Ms. Aparnaa Singh (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Selvanarayanan I (Member) |
|
|
Sh. S Rajasekharan (Member) |
| SOUTH II PANEL | |
| S.No. | Name of the Jury |
|
|
Sh. Malay Ray (Chairperson) |
|
|
Sh. Raghunandan B R (Member) |
|
|
Ms. Runa Bhutda (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Y K Gulavadi (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Satish Varma Mandapati (Member) |
NON-FEATURE FILMS JURY
| S.No. | Name of the Jury |
|
|
Sh. P Sheshadri (Chairperson) |
|
|
Ms. Pankaja Thakur (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Atul Gangwar (Member) |
|
|
Ms. Srishti Lakhera (Member) |
|
|
Sh. K S Selvaraj (Member) |
|
|
Ms. Olivia Das (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Jaicheng Xai Dohutia (Member) |
BEST WRITING ON CINEMA JURY
|
|
Sh. Gopalkrishna Pai (Chairperson) |
|
|
Sh. Ashok Palit (Member) |
|
|
Sh. Vinod Anupam (Member) |
The 71st National Film Awards underscored a shift towards rich, socially relevant storytelling with strong actors emerging from both mainstream and regional cinemas. 12th Fail emerged as the year’s standout piece, while shared honours to Shah Rukh Khan and Vikrant Massey, and Rani Mukerji’s stirring performance, highlighted range across the acting spectrum. From gritty documentaries to regional gems, the awards mirrored the multifaceted landscape of Indian cinema today.
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