National Film Awards 2023 Winners Announced: A Comprehensive Overview
The 71st National Film Awards: A Celebration of Diverse Achievements in Indian Cinema
The 71st National Film Awards for the year 2023 were announced on August 1, 2025, recognising the best of Indian cinema. Here are the key winners:
Feature Films
- Best Feature Film: 12th Fail
- Best Hindi Feature Film: Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery
Regional Best Films
- 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: The Ray of Hope
- Best Gujarati Film: Vash
- Best Bengali Film: Deep Fridge
- Best Assamese Film: Rangatapu 1982
Acting Categories
- Best Actor (shared): Shah Rukh Khan for Jawan and Vikrant Massey for 12th Fail (Shah Rukh Khan's first National Award)
- Best Actress: Rani Mukerji for Mrs. Chatterjee Vs Norway (her first National Award)
- Best Supporting Actor: Vijayaraghavan and Muthupettai Somu Bhaskar
Directing and Technical Categories
- Best Direction: The Kerala Story
- Best Music Direction: Pranil Desai (The First Film)
- Best Direction for Background Scores: Harshavardhan Rameshwar (Animal)
- Best Music Direction for Songs: Vaathi (Tamil)
- Best Lyrics: Balagam (Telugu)
- Best Choreography: Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani
- Best Cinematography (shared): Meenakshi Soman and Saravanamaruthu Soundarapandi (Little Wings) and Prasantanu Mohapatra (The Kerala Story)
- Best Editing: Niladri Roy (Moving Focus) and Midhun Murali (Pookalam)
- Best Sound Design: Sachin Sudhakaran and Hariharan Muralidharan (Animal) and Shubarun Sengupta (Dhundhgiri Ke Phool)
- Best Production Design: Mohandas (2018: Everyone is a Hero)
- Best Costume Design: Sachin Lovalekar, Divvya, and Nidhiii Gambhir (Sam Bahadur)
- Best Make-Up Artist: Shrikant Desai (Sam Bahadur)
- Best Voiceover: Hari Krishnan S (The Sacred Jack - Exploring The Tree of Wishes)
Non-Feature Films
- Best Non-Feature Film: Flowering Man
- Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values: The Silent Epidemic
- Best Art/Culture Film: Timeless Tamil Nadu
- Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction Films: Mo Bou Mo Gaan, Lentina Ao
- Best Film Critic: Utpal Datta
Special Mention
- Best Child Artist: Sukriti Veni Bandreddi, Kabir Khandane, and Treesh Thosar
- Best Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani
- Best Film Promoting National, Social Values: Sam Bahadur
- Best Non-Fiction Film: The Best Non-Fiction Film is Flowering Man
These results showcase a diverse set of winners across languages and categories, celebrating achievements in Indian cinema.
[1] Source: The National Film Development Corporation of India [2] Source: The Indian Express [3] Source: The Hindu
- The diverse winners in the acting categories, such as Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji, demonstrates the rich talent pool in Indian entertainment, including cinema, movies-and-tv, and even entertainment beyond the silver screen.
- The recognition of regional films, like Bhagavanth Kesari, Pushkara, and Ullozhukku, highlights the importance of preserving and promoting regional cultures through cinema.
- The victory of 12th Fail as Best Feature Film and The Kerala Story for Best Direction exemplifies the power of music, storytelling, and visuals in bridging cultural gaps and entertaining audiences across India.
