President Droupadi Murmu gave the Dadasaheb Phalke Grant 2023 to actor Mohanlal on Tuesday, September 23, 2025. She also awarded grants to the other winners at the 71st National Film Awards ceremony. Cinema is the pulse of my soul.
Jai Hind!” said Mr. Mohanlal after receiving the country’s most noteworthy cinema honor. Ms. Murmu congratulated all the winners. She praised Mr. Mohanlal’s amazing performances. She said he captured emotions from the tender to the intense with ease.
She is famous for saying that great movies centering on ladies are being made and perceived. “We all see that ladies, at some level, battle with patriarchy and partial states of mind. Today, award-winning movies tell stories of moms shaping their children's values. They show women uniting to challenge social norms and brave ladies standing up to patriarchy. She praised these filmmakers for their work.
Who Won the National Film Awards In 2025?
The 2025 National Film Awards recognize a remarkable group of talent. Honorees include Mohanlal, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Vikrant Massey, Karan Johar, and others. Shah Rukh Khan and Vikrant Massey won Best Actor.
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Rani Mukerji won Domestic Best Actress. Mohanlal received the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Karan Johar's film "Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani" was recognized as Best Popular Film. The grants celebrate exceptional accomplishments across different categories in Indian cinema.
The President said there ought to be satisfactory representation of ladies in the central and territorial boards of the jury. Given break-even with openings, she said, ladies seem to excel in all fields.
Ms. Murmu emphasized that cinema plays a key role in raising mindfulness and awareness of social issues. This is especially true for young people. She stated that cinema should not only be popular but also benefit the public good.
Shah Rukh Khan wins Best Actor at National Film Awards
Want to know more information about who is the best actor at the National Film Awards in 2025? Shah Rukh Khan wins Best Actor at the National Film Awards. She praised everyone at the grant ceremony for supporting films that focus on children, especially girls. Six child performers were granted awards this year.
I'm excited to see that everyone in cinema shares an Indian sensibility. This awareness connects all the regional communities. Indian writing is fair and comes in a few dialects. Indian cinema is also growing in various languages, regions, and local settings. Our movies are both neighborhood and national,” said the President.
At the 71st national film awards winners list, Shah Rukh Khan won the best performing artist grant for Jawan. Vikrant Massey also received the award for 12th Come up short, which was named the best feature film. Rani Mukerji got the best performing artist grant for her part in Mrs. Chatterjee vs. Norway.
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Sudipto Sen won the best heading grant for The Kerala Story (Hindi). The film also took home the award for best cinematography, which went to Prasantanu Mohapatra. P.V.N.S. Rohit and Shilpa Rao won best male and female vocalists for "Premisthunna" in Infant (Telugu). This film also had the best screenplay by Sai Rajesh Neelam. They shared this honor with "Stopping" (Tamil) and "Chaleya" in Jawan (Hindi).
71st National Film Awards Best Actor
The top award for best feature film went to Ashish Bende for Aatmapamphlet (Marathi). Karan Johar's Rough Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani won best popular film. Meghna Gulzar’s Sam Bahadur was the best highlight film advancing national, social, and natural values.
Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti's Naal 2 (Marathi) won the best children's film. Hanu-Man (Telugu) took the top award for animation, visual effects, gaming, and comedy.
Vijayaraghavan won the Best Supporting Character award for Pookkaalam (Malayalam). Muthupettai Somu Bhaskar received the same honor for Stopping (Tamil). Urvashi won the Best Supporting Artist award for Ullozhukku (Malayalam). She shared this honor with Janki Bodiwala, who won for Vash (Gujarati). The best child artiste grant went to:
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Sukriti Veni Bandreddi for Gandhi Tatha Chettu (Telugu)
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Kabir Khandare for Rover (Marathi)
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Treesha Thosar, Shrinivas Pokale, and Bhargav Jagtap for Naal 2
Best Music
The grants for sound went to:
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Creature (Hindi) by Sachin Sudhakaran and Hariharan Muralidharan.
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Altering to Midhun Murali in Pookkaalam (Malayalam).
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Generation plan to Mohandas for 2018: Everybody Is A Legend (Malayalam).
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Music to G.V. Prakash Kumar in Vaathi (Tamil) and Harshavardhan Rameshwar in Creature (Hindi).
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Verses to Karsarla Shyam for the song Ooru Palleturu in Balagam (Telugu).
Vaibhavi Shipper won the Best Choreography award for "Dhindhora Baje Re" in Rough Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. Nandu Prudhvi took home the best action direction award for stunt choreography in *Hanu-Man*.
Sam Bahadur, a biopic about Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, won for Make-up and Ensemble. Meanwhile, "Kathal: A Jackfruit Riddle," starring Sanya Malhotra, was named the best Hindi Film.Deepak Kingrani was granted the title of best discourse author for Hindi film Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai. The films that won in the dialect categories are:
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Rongatapu (Assamese)
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Profound Cooler (Bengali)
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Stopping (Tamil)
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Kandeelu (Kannada)
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Shamchi Aai (Marathi)
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Puskara (Odia)
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Godday GoddayChaa (Punjabi)
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Bhagavanth Kesari (Telugu)
Hindi film Blossoming Man was decreed the best in the non-feature film category.
