New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday presented the National Film Awards, honouring some of the biggest names in Indian cinema. Bollywood icons Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, and Vikrant Massey received acting honours, while Malayalam legend Mohanlal was conferred the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award for his five-decade-long career spanning over 360 films.
The ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan celebrated mainstream cinema with loud cheers for Shah Rukh and Rani, both winning their first National Awards—for Jawan and Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway respectively. Vikrant Massey shared his award with Shah Rukh for 12th Fail. Mohanlal received a standing ovation, calling the honour a tribute to the entire Malayalam film fraternity.
Other major awards included:
Best Film: 12th Fail (Vidhu Vinod Chopra)
Best Popular Film (Wholesome Entertainment): Rocky Aur Rani Kii Kahaani (Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta)
Best Director: Sudipto Sen (The Kerala Story)
Best Film Promoting National, Social & Environmental Values: Sam Bahadur (Meghna Gulzar, Ronnie Screwvala)
Hindi cinema dominated top categories, though regional films shone too. Vijayaraghavan (Pookalam) and M. S. Bhaskar (Parking) shared Best Supporting Actor, while Urvashi (Ullozhokku) and Janki Bodiwala (Vash) won Best Supporting Actress.
Technical and music awards were spread across industries:
Animal bagged Best Sound Design, Best Background Music, and a special mention.
GV Prakash won Best Music Director (songs) for Tamil film Vaathi.
Shilpa Rao was named Best Female Playback Singer for Jawan’s “Chaleya,” while PVN S Rohit won Best Male Playback Singer for Baby.
Vaibhavi Merchant earned Best Choreography for Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.
Children’s cinema also got recognition, with Naal 2 declared Best Children’s Film. Other language winners included Rongatapu 1982 (Assamese), Deep Fridge (Bengali), Kandeelu (Kannada), Shamchi Aai (Marathi), Puskara (Odia), Godday Godday Chaa (Punjabi), and Bhagavanth Kesari (Telugu).
In the non-feature segment, Flowering Man was adjudged Best Film, God Vulture and Human won Best Documentary, and Piyush Thakur received Best Director for The First Film.
Congratulating the winners, President Murmu highlighted Indian cinema’s diversity, women-centric narratives, and multilingual growth. She urged filmmakers to acknowledge their crews and praised stories showcasing strong women. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stressed on the Make in India initiative for film equipment and proposed policies to boost India’s live concert economy.
