The 71st National Film Awards, announced on August 1, 2025, honoured excellence in Indian cinema, recognising films certified by the CBFC in 2023. Known for their credibility and merit-based selection, the awards were presented by the President of India, with winners chosen by a jury appointed by the Directorate of Film Festivals.
This year’s top honour, Best Feature Film, went to Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail. The film also secured Best Actor for Vikrant Massey, who shared the award with Shah Rukh Khan for Jawan. Rani Mukerji won Best Actress for her powerful performance in Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway.
Other highlights include:
- Best Direction: Sudipto Sen (The Kerala Story)
- Best Supporting Actor: Vijayaraghavan (Pookkalam), Muthupettai Somu Bhaskar (Parking)
- Best Supporting Actress: Urvashi (Ullozhukku), Janaki Bodiwala (Vash)
The awards showcased India’s regional cinema diversity, with recognitions in languages such as Telugu (Bhagavanth Kesari), Tamil (Parking), Marathi (Shyamchi Aai), Malayalam (Ullozhukku), Kannada (Kandeelu), Bengali (Deep Fridge), Gujarati (Vash), and more.
In music and technical categories:
- Best Music Direction: G.V. Prakash Kumar (Vaathi), Harshavardhan Rameshwar (Animal)
- Best Playback Singing: Shilpa Rao (Jawan), P.V.N.S. Rohit (Baby)
- Best Choreography: Vaibhavi Merchant (Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani)
- Best Cinematography: Prasanthanu Mohapatra (The Kerala Story)
The 2025 awards not only celebrated box office successes but also underlined cinematic excellence in storytelling, performance, and craft.