New Delhi, Delhi,1st of August 2025 : The winners of the 71st National Film Awards for the year 2023 were announced today by the respective juries. This year, the awards saw 332 entries in the feature film category, 115 in non-feature films, 27 books, and 16 critics’ submissions.
12th Fail has been honoured with the Best Feature Film award at the 71st National Film Awards.
Flowering Man won the Best Non-Feature Film award, while God Vulture and Human was recognised as the Best Documentary. Both films earned their first National Film Award.
Shah Rukh Khan (Jawan) and Vikrant Massey (12th Fail) have been awarded the Best Actor award. This is the first National Film Award of Sharukh Khan in his career.
Rani Mukerji was honoured with the Best Actress award for her powerful performance in Mrs. Chatterjee Vs Norway. This is also her first-ever National Film Award.
Veteran actor Vijayaraghavan and Muthupettai Somu Bhaskar were awarded Best Supporting Actor.
The announcement was made by Shri Ashutosh Gowariker (Feature Film Jury Chairperson), Shri P. Sheshadri (Non-Feature Film Jury Chairperson), and Dr. Ajay Nagabhushan MN, Joint Secretary (Films). Ms. Mattu J. P. Singh, Director General, PIB, was also present on the occasion.
The complete list of the awardees is provided below
71st National Film Awards, 2023 Best Writing on Cinema
Award for Best Film Critic:
| Sr. No. | Name of Critic | Language | Medal and Cash Prize |
| 1. | Utpal Datta | Assamese | Swarna Kamal and Rs. 1,00,000/- |
71st National Film Awards, 2023 Non-Feature Films Section
| S. No. | Category of Award | Title of the Film | Awardee | Medal & Cash Prize |
| 1. | Best Non-Feature Film | Flowering Man(Hindi) | Producer: Film and Television Institute of India Director: Soumyajit Ghosh Dastidar | Swarna KamalRs. 3,00,000/- (each) |
| 2. | Best Debut Film of A Director | Mau: The Spirit Dreams of Cheraw(Mizo) | Director: Shilpika Bordoloi | Swarna Kamal Rs. 3,00,000/- |
| 3. | Best Biographical / Historical Reconstruction / Compilation Film | Mo Bou, Mo Gaan (Odia) | Producer: Kicksy Wicksy Films RNV 1820 FilmsDirector: Subash Sahoo | Rajat Kamal Rs 2,00,000/-(Shared) |
| Lentina Ao – A Light on the Eastern Horizon(English) | Producer: NFDCDirector: Sanjib Parasar | |||
| 4. | Best Arts / Culture Film | Timeless Tamil Nadu(English) | Producer: Celebrities Management Private LimitedDirector: Kamakhya Narayan Singh | Rajat Kamal Rs 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 5. | Best Documentary | God Vulture and Human(English, Hindi & Telugu) | Producer: Studio Lichi Dr. Rajesh ChandwaniDirector: Rishiraj Agarwal | Rajat Kamal Rs 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 6. | Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values | The Silent Epidemic(Hindi) | Producer: Cinema4good Pvt Ltd Raahgiri FoundationDirector: Akshat Gupta | Rajat Kamal Rs 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 7. | Best Short Film (Up to 30 Min) | Giddh The Scavenger(Hindi) | Producer: Ellanar FilmsDirector: Manish Saini | Rajat Kamal Rs 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 8. | Best Direction | The First Film(Hindi) | Director: Piyush Thakur | Swarna Kamal Rs 3,00,000/- |
| 9. | Best Cinematography | Little Wings(Tamil) | Cinematographer: SaravanamaruthuSoundarapandi & Meenakshi Soman | Rajat Kamal Rs 2,00,000/- (shared) |
| 10. | Best Sound Design | Dhundhgiri Ke Phool(Hindi) | Sound Designer: Shubharun Sengupta | Rajat Kamal Rs 2,00,000/- |
| 11. | Best Editing | Moving Focus(English) | Editor: Niladri Roy | Rajat Kamal Rs 2,00,000/- |
| 12. | Best Music Direction | The First Film(Hindi) | Music Director: Pranil Desai | Rajat Kamal Rs 2,00,000/- |
| 13. | Best Narration/ Voice Over | The Sacred Jack – Exploring The Tree of Wishes(English) | Narrator: Harikrishnan S | Rajat KamalRs 2,00,000/- |
| 14. | Best Script | Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know… (Kannada) | Script Writer: Chidananda Naik | Rajat Kamal Rs. 2,00,000/- |
| 15. | Special Mention | Nekal – Chronicle of The Paddy Man (Malayalam) | Director & Producer: M K Ramadas | Certificate (each) |
| The Sea And Seven Villages (Odia) | Producer: Kadambini Media Pvt. Ltd.Director: Himansu Sekhar Khatua | Certificate (each) |
71st National Film Awards, 2023 Feature Films Section
| S. No. | Category of Award | Title of The Film | Awardee | Medal & Cash Prize |
| 1. | Best Feature Film | 12th Fail(Hindi) | Producer: VC Films LLPDirector: Vidhu Vinod Chopra | Swarna Kamal Rs. 3,00,000/- (each) |
| 2. | Best Debut Film of a Director | Aatmapamphlet (Marathi) | Director: Ashish Bende | Swarna Kamal Rs. 3,00,000/- |
| 3. | Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (Hindi) | Producer: Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd.Director: Karan Johar | Swarna Kamal Rs. 3,00,000/- (each) |
| 4. | Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social, and Environmental Values | Sam Bahadur (Hindi) | Producer: Unilazer Ventures Private LimitedDirector: Meghna Gulzar | Rajat Kamal Rs. 2,00,000/- (each) |
| 5. | Best Children’s Film | Naal 2 (Marathi) | Producer: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. Aatpat ProductionsDirector: Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti | Swarna Kamal Rs. 3,00,000/- (each) |
| 6. | Best Film in AVGC(Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming & Comic) | Hanu-Man (Telugu) | Producer: Primeshow Entertainment Pvt LtdDirector: Prasanth Varma | Swarna Kamal Rs. 3,00,000/- (each) |
| Animator: Jetty Venkat Kumar | Swarna KamalRs. 3,00,000/- | |||
| VFX Supervisor: Jetty Venkat Kumar | Rajat KamalRs. 2,00,000/- | |||
| 7. | Best Direction | The Kerala Story (Hindi) |
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