Explore the full winners list of the 71st National Film Awards 2025, including Best Actor Shah Rukh Khan, Best Actress Rani Mukerji, and Best Feature Film 12th Fail. Get expert insights, regional film highlights, and more.
The 71st National Film Awards were released on August 1, 2025, in New Delhi, and Indian Cinema blossomed once again for its ambition in storytelling, variety of creative talent, and excellence of film making. The awards recognized films that were released in 2023 and recognized performances and productions in every language, genre, and format.
Whether you’re someone who consumes films, a filmmaker, or simply someone who has been watching Bollywood and regional cinema closely, the winners speak to the new voices and the established luminaries of Indian film. Let’s dive deep into the entire winners’ list and discuss some expert insights, some impressive moments, and whether or not it was a momentous occasion.
Highlights of the 71st National Film Awards
Before we go going into the full list, here are some of the most discussed wins:
Best Feature Film: 12th Fail (Hindi)
Best Actor (tie): Shah Rukh Khan for Jawan and Vikrant Massey for 12th Fail
Best Actress: Rani Mukerji for Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway
Best Director: Sudipto Sen for The Kerala Story.
These wins present a combination of audience appeal and critical acclaim, demonstrating what contemporary Indian cinema is all about.
These wins represent a combination of broad appeal and critical success, marking the heart of current Indian cinema.
Full Winners List – Feature Films
Best Feature Film: 12th Fail (Hindi)
12th Fail is a powerful, heart-rending, inspirational story about persevering against all odds. Directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, it recreates the real-life story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma and struck a collective chord for audiences and critics alike.
Best Actor (Joint winners)
Shah Rukh Khan – Jawan (Hindi)
SRK delivered a double role performance bursting with emotion, action, and social narrative. Jawan wasn’t just a hit film; it became a moment in the Indian cinema calendar.
Vikrant Massey – 12th Fail (Hindi)
With a deep, immersive, brave performance, Massey magically became Manoj Sharma, with reviewers praising him for his subtle yet poignant performance.
Best Actress: Rani Mukerji – Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway (Hindi)
In one of the most emotive performances of the year, Rani Mukerji portrayed a mother’s fight against an alien system with fierce intensity. Expected and widely acknowledged as deserving!
Best Direction: Sudipto Sen – The Kerala Story (Hindi)
A controversial yet powerful film, The Kerala Story, made headlines for its difficult, powerful story-telling and uncompromising direction. Despite the debate over its content, Sen’s clarity of vision shone through!
Top Regional Films
It would be disingenuous to talk about Indian cinema without mentioning the regional cinema. This year’s film awards saw the following gems from around the country:
Best Malayalam Film: 2018
Best Tamil Film: Viduthalai Part 1
Best Marathi Film: Ved
Best Bengali Film: Ardhangini
Best Telugu Film: Hi Nanna
Technical Awards – Behind the Scenes Wisdom
Best Editing: Jawan – Ruben
Jawan’s editing won for its pace, structure, and style, managing to latch onto the audience from start to finish.
Best Art Direction: Ponniyin Selvan II – Thotta Tharani
The historical epic sustained the exotic and bucolic beauty of its elevated world through intricate sets and plentiful details.
Best Background Score: Animal – Harshavardhan Rameshwar
The tautness of Animal was enhanced and amplified by a signature pounding score that cemented its popularity with fans.
Best Costume Design: Heeramandi – Rimple and Harpreet
Sanajy Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi may never make its way to theatres, but the costume design choices were recognized for their beauty, detail, and opulence.
Why the 71st National Awards Matter More Than Ever
1. Variety of Language and Genre
From socio-political thrillers like The Kerala Story to emotional and hard-hitting dramas like Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, the range of films that won across the board represents the evolution of storytelling in cinema across India.
2. The rise of content-driven cinema
Films like 12th Fail have shown you can still have storytelling dominate the narrative. The prosperity of biopics and narratives inspired by true-life stories proves that audiences want stories in their authentic form.
3. Understand both mass and class
The awards did not shy away from celebrating commercial cinema (Jawan, Animal) next to independent films, which represents the whole journey of Indian filmmaking.
What This Year’s National Awards Tell Us
The 71st National Film Awards did not mean just trophies but a celebration of the renaissance in Indian cinema. With streaming platforms favoring bold content, and audiences looking for deeper heroines, storytellers have never been in a better position to tell stories that are real, rooted, and revolutionary.
From Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji to names like Vikrant Massey, all we saw at the awards happened to be the best following of Indian talent and a laying down of the journey ahead.
FAQs
1. When and where were the 71st National Film Awards announced?
The 71st National Film Awards were announced on August 1, 2025, in New Delhi. That date recognized excellence in Indian film for the year 2023.
3. Who shared the Best Actor award this year?
The Best Actor Awards were jointly awarded to:
Shah Rukh Khan for Jawan (Hindi).
Vikrant Massey for 12th Fail (Hindi).
Both these performances were acclaimed, not blemished, by their emotional resonance and mass appeal.
4. What was the Best Actress title that Rani Mukerji received?
The Best Actress title was due to an enthusiastic portrayal of Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway. This film is based on the true story of an Indian mother fighting for her children.
5. What does The Kerala Story mean for the 2025 National Awards?
The Kerala Story was awarded for Best Direction and got Sudipto Sen’s national conversation. The film was recognised for its daring storytelling, relevant impact, and adequate execution of subject matter from production to release.