71st National Film Awards '12th Fail' Wins Best Film; SRK, Vikrant Massey Share Best Actor

Aug 2, 2025 - The winners of the 71st National Film Awards were announced by the jury at the National Media Centre in New Delhi on Friday, 1 August 1, 2025. Films certified by the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, were eligible for these awards.

In 2023, many popular Hindi films were released, including Pathaan, Animal, 12th Fail, OMG 2, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, The Kerala Story and Adipurush. In the Telugu film industry, notable releases included Sita Ramam, Month of Madhu, Balagam and Dasara.

The Best Actor award was shared by Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) and Vikrant Massey, while Rani Mukerji won the Best Actress award. This is SRK’s first National Award in a career of around 33 years. Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail, starring Vikrant Massey, was named Best Feature Film.

Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, directed by Karan Johar and starring Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh, won Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Christo Tomy’s debut film Ullozhukku won the Best Malayalam Film award. Veteran actor Urvashi won Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, sharing the award with Janki Bodiwala for the Gujarati film Vash.

List of 71st National Film Awards

Best Actor (Leading Role): Shah Rukh Khan (Jawan), Vikrant Massey (12th Fail)

Best Actress (Leading Role): Rani Mukerji (Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway)

Best Actor in Supporting Role: Urvashi (Ullozhukku), Janki Bodiwala (Vash), Vijayaraghavan (Pookalam), Muthupettai Somu Bhaskar (Parking)

Best Child Artist: Sukriti Bandireddi (Gandhi Thatha Chettu), Kabir Khandare (Gypsy), Treesha Toshar, Shrinivas Pokale, Bhargav (Naal 2)

Best Film: 12th Fail

Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani

Best Film Promoting National, Social Values: Sam Bahadur

Best Children’s Film: Naal 2

Best Debut Film: Aatmapamphlet

Best Film in AVGC: HanuMan

Best Direction: Sudipto Sen (The Kerala Story)

Feature Film Category

Special Mention: MR Rajakrishnan (Animal – Re-Recording)

Best Tai Phake Film: Pai Tang… Step of Hope

Best Garo Film: Rimdottianga

Best Telugu Film: Bhagavanth Kesari

Best Tamil Film: Parking

Best Punjabi Film: Godday Godday Chaa

Best Odia Film: Pushkara

Best Marathi Film: Shyamchi Aai

Best Malayalam Film: Ullozhukku

Best Kannada Film: Kandeelu

Best Hindi Film: Kathal

Best Gujarati Film: Vash

Best Bengali Film: Deep Fridge

Best Assamese Film: Rongatapu 1982

Technical Awards

Best Action Direction: Nandu-Prudhvi (HanuMan)

Best Choreography: Vaibhavi Merchant (Dindhora Baje Re – Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani)

Best Lyrics: Kasarla Shyam (Ooru Palleturu – Balagam)

Best Music Direction: GV Prakash Kumar (Vaathi), Harshavardhan Rameshwar (Animal)

Best Makeup: Shrikanth Desai (Sam Bahadur)

Best Costume Design: Sachin, Divya, Nidhhi (Sam Bahadur)

Best Production Design: Mohandas (2018)

Best Editing: Midhun Murali (Pookkaalam)

Best Sound Design: Sachin Sudhakaran, Hariharan (Animal)

Best Screenplay: Sai Rajesh (Baby), Ramkumar Balakrishnan (Parking)

Best Dialogue: Deepak Kingrani (Sirf Ek Bandha Kaafi Hai)

Best Cinematography: Prasanthanu Mohapatra (The Kerala Story)

Best Playback Singer: Shilpa Rao (Chaliya – Jawan), Rohit (Premisthunna – Baby)

Non-Feature Film Category

Special Mentions: Nekal – Chronicle of the Paddy Man, The Sea and the Seven Villages

Best Script: Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know

Best Voiceover: Hari Krishnan S (The Sacred Jack – Exploring The Tree of Wishes)

Best Music Direction: Pranil Desai (The First Film)

Best Editing: Niladri Roy (Moving Focus)

Best Sound Design: Shubarun Sengupta (Dhundhgiri Ke Phool)

Best Cinematography: Meenakshi Soman, Saravanamaruthu (Little Wings)

Best Direction: Piyush Thakur (The First Film)

Best Short Film: Giddh The Scavenger

Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values: The Silent Epidemic

Best Documentary Film: God Vulture and Human

Best Art/Culture Film: Timeless Tamil Nadu

Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction Film: Mo Bou Mo Gaan, Lentina Ao

Best Debut Film: The Spirit Dreams of Cheraw

Best Non-Fiction Film: Flowering Man