Malayalam cinema led the charge for South Indian films at the 70th National Film Awards, winning an impressive eight awards, including Best Film, Best Child Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Female Playback Singer. In total, South Indian films bagged 20 awards across various categories, showcasing their dominance in the Indian film industry. The Malayalam film 'Aattam: The Play' was honoured with the Best Feature Film award, cementing its place as a standout in Indian cinema. Sooraj R. Barjatya took home the Best Director award for his work on the Hindi movie 'Uunchai'. The Best Actress award was shared by Nithya Menen for her performance in the Tamil film 'Thiruchitrambalam' and Manasi Parekh for the Gujarati movie 'Kutch Express', while Rishabh Shetty was named Best Actor for his role in the Kannada hit Kantara.
Neena Gupta was best supporting actress for 'Uunchai' and Pawan Malhotra best supporting actor for the Haryanvi film 'Fouja'.
Sharmila Tagore and Manoj Bajpayee starrer 'Gulmohar' won the award for Hindi film. Bajpayee also got a special mention.
A R Rahman won the National Film Award for best music director (background music) for his work in Mani Ratnam's 'Ponnyin Selvan-Part 1', which was also named the best Tamil film. Pritam got the award for best music director (songs) for 'Brahmastra-Part 1'.
The awards were announced by feature film jury head Rahul Rawail.
Here is the complete list of winners for the 70th National Film Awards:
Feature Categories
Best Feature Film: Aattam
Best Actor: Rishab Shetty, Kantara
Best Actress: Nithya Menen in Tiruchitrabalam, and Manasi Parekh in Kutch Express
Best Director: Sooraj Barjatya, Uunchai
Best Supporting Actress: Neena Gupta, Uunchai
Best Supporting Actor: Pawan Malhotra, Fouji
Best Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Kantara
Best Debut: Fouja, Pramod Kumar
Best Telugu Film: Karthikeya 2
Best Tamil Film: Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1
Best Punjabi Film: Baaghi Di Dhee
Best Odia Film: Daman
Best Malayalam Film: Saudi Velakka
Best Marathi Film: Vaalvi
Best Kannada Film: KGF: Chapter 2
Best Hindi Film: Gulmohar
Best Tiwa Film: Sikaisal
Best Bengali Film: Kaberi Antardhan
Best Assamese Film: Emuthi Puthi
Best Action Direction: KGF: Chapter 2
Best Choreography: Tiruchitrabalam
Best Lyrics – Fouja
Best Music Director: Pritam (Songs), AR Rahman (Background Score)
Best Makeup: Aparajito
Best Costumes: Kutch Express
Best Production Design: Aparajit
Best Editing: Aattam
Best Sound Design: Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1
Best Screenplay: Aatta
Best Dialogues: Gulmohar
Best Cinematography: Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1
Best Female Playback: Saudi Velakka, Bombay Jayashri
Best Female Playback: Brahmastra, Arijit Singh
Best Child Artist: Sreepath in Mallikappuram
Best Film in AVGC: Brahmastra
Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values: Kutch Express
Non-feature Categories
Best Non-Feature Film: Ayena
Best Debut Film: Madhyantara
Best Biographical/Historical/Compilation Film: Aanakhi Ek Mohenjo Daro
Best Arts/Culture Film: Ranga Vibhoga/Varsa
Best Script: Mono No Aware
Best Narrator: Murmurs of the Jungle
Best Music Direction: Fursat
Best Editing: Madhyantara
Best Sound Design: Yaan
Best Cinematography: Mono No Aware
Best Direction: From the Shadow
Best Short Film: Xunyota
Best Animated Film: The Coconut Tree
Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values: On the Brink Season 2: Gharial
Best Documentary: Murmurs of the Jungle
Film Writing
Best Critic: Deepak Dua
Best Book on Cinema: Kishore Kumar: The Ultimate Biography
Special mentions
Manoj Bajpayee (actor): Gulmohar (Hindi)
Sanjay Salil Chowdhury (music director): Kadhikan (Malayalam)