Mohanlal receives Dadasaheb Phalke Award, National Film Awards distributed

New Delhi: The 71st National Film Awards and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award were presented in a grand ceremony at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, with President Droupadi Murmu conferring the honors. The Malayalam film industry secured five awards at the event.

Malayalam cinema’s pride, Mohanlal, received the country’s highest film honor, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. At the event, MIB Secretary Sanjay Jaju affectionately addressed him as “Lalettan” while extending his congratulations.

Urvashi Receives National Award for Best Supporting Actress from President Droupadi Murmu

Vijayaraghavan won the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in Pookkaal, while Urvashi was honored as Best Supporting Actress for her role in Ullozhukk. Director Christo Tomy’s Ullozhukk was named Best Malayalam Film. Mithun Murali bagged the Best Editing award for Pookkaal, and Mohandas received the Best Production Design award for the film 2018.

For the first time in his career, Shah Rukh Khan won the National Award for Best Actor, sharing the honor with Vikrant Massey for his acclaimed role in 12th Fail. The Best Actress award went to Rani Mukerji for her performance in Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway.

In the Non- Feature category, M K Ramdas’s Nekkal: Chronicle of the Padi Man earned a Special Mention. The Hindi film Animal won recognition in the technical section, with Sachin Sudhakar and Hariharan Muralidharan winning for Sound Design, while M R Rajakrishnan received a Special Mention for re-recording.

Vijayaraghavan Receives National Award for Best Supporting Actor from President Droupadi Murmu

Janaki Bodhivala shared the Best Supporting Actress award with Urvashi for her role in Vash, and M S Bhaskar shared the Best Supporting Actor award with Vijayaraghavan for his performance in the Tamil film Parking.

Controversially, Sudipto Sen, director of The Kerala Story, a film criticised for spreading hatred against Kerala, was awarded Best Director. The film’s cinematographer, Prashantanu Mohapatra, also received the award for Best Cinematography.