The 71st National Film Awards, presented by the National Film Development Corporation of India, were announced on 1 August 2025, honouring the best in Indian cinema for the year 2023. From socially relevant themes to mainstream hits and experimental storytelling, this year’s winners showcased the rich diversity and talent spread across India’s film industry.
Feature Film Awards
Below are the National Film Awards given for feature films.
Golden Lotus Award (Official Name: Swarna Kamal)
All the awardees are awarded with the ‘Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)’, a certificate and a cash prize of ₹300,000 each.
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Feature Film | 12th Fail | Hindi | Producer: Vinod Chopra FilmsDirector: Vidhu Vinod Chopra |
| Best Debut Film of a Director | Aatmapamphlet | Marathi | Ashish Avinash Bende |
| Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani | Hindi | Producer: Dharma ProductionsDirector: Karan Johar |
| Best Children’s Film | Naal 2 | Marathi | Producer: Aatpat Production and Zee StudiosDirector: Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti |
| Best Film in AVGC – Animator | Hanu-Man | Telugu | Jetty Venkat Kumar |
| Best Film in AVGC – Producer & Director | Hanu-Man | Telugu | Producer: Primeshow EntertainmentDirector: Prasanth Varma |
| Best Direction | The Kerala Story | Hindi | Sudipto Sen |
Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)
All the awardees are awarded with the ‘Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)’, a certificate and a cash prize of ₹2,00,000.
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Film in AVGC – VFX Supervisor | Hanu-Man | Telugu | Jetty Venkat Kumar |
| Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values | Sam Bahadur | Hindi | Producer: Unilazer Ventures Pvt LtdDirector: Meghna Gulzar |
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Jawan / 12th Fail | Hindi | Shah Rukh Khan / Vikrant Massey |
| Best Actress in a Leading Role | Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway | Hindi | Rani Mukerji |
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Pookkaalam / Parking | Malayalam / Tamil | Vijayaraghavan / M. S. Bhaskar |
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Ullozhukku / Vash | Malayalam / Gujarati | Urvashi / Janki Bodiwala |
| Best Child Artist | Gandhi Tatha Chettu, Gypsy, Naal 2 | Telugu, Marathi | Sukriti Veni Bandreddi, Kabir Khandare, Treesha Thosar, Shrinivas Pokale, Bhargav Jagtap |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Baby (“Premistunna”) | Telugu | P V N S Rohit |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Jawan (“Chaleya”) | Hindi | Shilpa Rao |
| Best Cinematography | The Kerala Story | Hindi | Prasantanu Mohapatra |
| Best Screenplay (Original) | Baby / Parking | Telugu / Tamil | Sai Rajesh / Ramkumar Balakrishnan |
| Best Screenplay (Dialogues) | Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai | Hindi | Deepak Kingrani |
| Best Sound Design | Animal | Hindi | Sachin Sudhakaran, Hariharan Muralidharan |
| Best Editing | Pookkaalam | Malayalam | Midhun Murali |
| Best Production Design | 2018 | Malayalam | Mohandas |
| Best Costume Design | Sam Bahadur | Hindi | Sachin Lovalekar, Divvya Gambhir, Nidhhi Gambhir |
| Best Make-up | Sam Bahadur | Hindi | Shrikant Desai |
| Best Music Direction (Songs) | Vaathi | Tamil | G. V. Prakash Kumar |
| Best Music Direction (Background Score) | Animal | Hindi | Harshavardhan Rameshwar |
| Best Lyrics | Balagam (“Ooru Palletooru”) | Telugu | Kasarla Shyam |
| Best Choreography | Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (“Dhindhora Baje Re”) | Hindi | Vaibhavi Merchant |
| Best Stunt Choreography | Hanu-Man | Telugu | Nandu Prudhvi |
Regional Awards
Best Feature Film in Each of the Language Specified in the Schedule VIII of the Constitution All the awardees are awarded with the ‘Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)’, a certificate and a cash prize of ₹2,00,000 each.
| Language | Film |
|---|---|
| Assamese | Rongatapu 1982 |
| Bengali | Deep Fridge |
| Gujarati | Vash |
| Hindi | Kathal |
| Kannada | Kandeelu |
| Malayalam | Ullozhukku |
| Marathi | Shyamchi Aai |
| Odia | Pushkara |
| Punjabi | Godday Godday Chaa |
| Tamil | Parking |
| Telugu | Bhagavanth Kesari |
Non-Feature Film Awards
Non-feature length films made in any Indian language and certified by the Central Board of Film Certification as a documentary, short film, animation film etc are eligible for non-feature film section.
Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)
All the awardees are awarded with the ‘Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)’, a certificate and a cash prize of ₹300,000 each.
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Non-Feature Film | Flowering Man | Hindi | Producer: FTIIDirector: Soumyajit Ghosh Dastidar |
| Best Direction | The First Film | Hindi | Piyush Thakur |
| Best Debut Film of a Director | Mau: The Spirit Dreams of Cheraw | Mizo | Shilpika Bordoloi |
Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)
All the awardees are awarded with the ‘Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)’, a certificate and a cash prize of ₹2,00,000.
| Award | Film | Language | Awardee(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Biographical / Historical Film | Mo Bou, Mo Gaan | Odia | Subash Sahoo |
| Lentina Ao – A Light on the Eastern Horizon | English | Sanjib Parasar | |
| Best Arts / Cultural Film | Timeless Tamil Nadu | English | Kamakhya Narayan Singh |
| Best Documentary | God Vulture and Human | English, Hindi, Telugu | Rishiraj Agarwal |
| Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values | The Silent Epidemic | English | Akshat Gupta |
| Best Short Film | Giddh (The Scavenger) | Hindi | Manish Saini |
| Best Cinematography | Little Wings | Tamil | Saravanamaruthu Soundarapandi, Meenakshi Soman |
| Best Sound Design | Dhundhgiri Ke Phool | Hindi | Shubharun Sengupta |
| Best Editing | Moving Focus | English | Niladri Roy |
| Best Music Direction | The First Film | Hindi | Pranil Desai |
| Best Narration / Voice Over | The Sacred – Jack Exploring the Tree of Wishes | English | Harikrishnan S |
| Best Script | Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know… | Kannada | Chidananda S. Naik |
Writing on Cinema
Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal) accompanied with a cash prize of ₹1,00,000
| Award | Awardee(s) | Language |
|---|---|---|
| Best Film Critic | Utpal Datta | Assamese |
Controversy: The Kerala Story
Shortly after The Kerala Story received the Best Director and Best Cinematography awards, the decision drew significant criticism. Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called it a “grave insult” to the state, accusing the film of spreading misinformation and legitimizing a divisive ideology. Several media outlets noted the awards came despite longstanding allegations of exaggerated and fictionalized portrayals of conversions and ISIS recruitment in Kerala.
Jury chairperson Ashutosh Gowariker defended the decision, stating that the film addressed a “difficult topic” with clarity and was recognized for its strong visual execution.
Compiled by Grisu Times Editorial Team
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