Shah Rukh Khan Bags First National Award;12th Fail’ Shines as Best Film at71st National Film Awards
By Amit Kumar
The 71st National Film Awards, celebrating cinematic excellence in Indian cinema for the year 2023,
were announced today, and they brought major recognition to some of Bollywood’s most powerful
performances and stories.
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan finally clinched his first-ever National Film Award, winning Best Actor for
his high-octane performance in Atlee’s action-packed drama Jawan. Sharing the honour with him
was Vikrant Massey, who earned the award for his nuanced portrayal in the inspirational biopic 12th
Fail, a film based on the real-life struggles of IPS officer Manoj Kumar. The latter also took home the
coveted Best Feature Film award.
On the women’s front, Rani Mukerji was named Best Actress for her deeply emotional role in Mrs
Chatterjee vs Norway, a film that explores a mother’s harrowing legal battle to regain custody of her
children from Norwegian authorities.
The awards were announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Friday, August 1,
2025, recognizing cinematic contributions across various genres and languages.
Sudipto Sen earned the Best Director award for The Kerala Story, while Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur
Rani Kii Prem Kahani was recognised as the Best Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
Meanwhile, Jawan, which also stars Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi, was not only a box office
juggernaut, crossing ₹1000 crore globally, but has now also become a milestone in Shah Rukh’s
decorated career. His character, a vigilante fighting systemic corruption, struck a chord with
audiences and critics alike.
12th Fail, directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, continued its winning streak by delivering an earnest and
inspirational narrative that resonated widely with the public.
Among the other big winners was Animal, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga and starring Ranbir
Kapoor. The controversial yet successful film secured three technical awards, Special Mention for
Re-Recording (MR Rajakrishnan), Best Background Score (Harshavardhan Rameshwar), and Best
Sound Design (Sachin Sudhakaran and Hariharan Muralidharan).
Vicky Kaushal’s patriotic drama Sam Bahadur, chronicling the life of India’s first Field Marshal Sam
Manekshaw, won the award for Best Film Promoting National and Social Values, in addition to
accolades for Best Make-Up and Best Costume Design.
Regional cinema also made a strong impression. Tamil film Parking, directed by Ramkumar
Balakrishnan, won Best Tamil Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for M.S. Bhaskar’s
moving performance.