71st National Film Awards: Mohanlal Receives Dadasaheb Phalke Award Honour; Shilpa Rao, Vaibhavi Merchant And Others Bag Top Honours

PS. All images used in the article are taken from DD National’s live broadcasting of the 71st National Film Awards.

Mohanlal, Shilpa Rao, Vaibhavi Merchant, among others, received some of the top honours at the 71st National Film Awards. The awards were announced by the jury last month, and today, the winners will receive their prize from President Droupadi Murmu. The National Film Awards are considered the most prestigious prize for cinema in India, and honour films in all 18 official languages of the country and beyond. The prizes are being given at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.

Mohanlal, Shilpa Rao, Vaibhavi Merchant Bag Top Honours

Mohanlal

Veteran actor Mohanlal received the Dadasaheb Phalke award for his contribution to Indian cinema. The actor even received a standing ovation. Already a recipient of the Padma Shri (2001) and Padma Bhushan (2019), this latest honour cements Mohanlal’s stature as a towering figure in Indian arts.

Celebrating the brilliance of #IndianCinema at the 71st #NationalFilmAwards!

Legendary actor, director, and producer Mohanlal conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2023 during 71st National Film Awards.@rashtrapatibhvn @AshwiniVaishnaw @DrLMurugan @nfdcindia… pic.twitter.com/5zoVhe4zRL

— Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India) September 23, 2025

Director

The Director who won the Best Direction award at the 71st National Film Awards was Sudipto Sen for the film The Kerala Story.

Celebrating the brilliance of #IndianCinema at the 71st #NationalFilmAwards!

🏆Award for the ‘Best Direction’ is conferred to Sudipto Sen for ‘The Kerala Story’ (Hindi).@rashtrapatibhvn @AshwiniVaishnaw @DrLMurugan @nfdcindia @PIB_India @DDNewslive @airnewsalerts #NFA2023… pic.twitter.com/oTv3McBqUR

— Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India) September 23, 2025

Playback Singer- Female

Shilpa Rao won the 71st National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer. She received the award for the song “Chaleya” from the Hindi film Jawan. Shilpa Rao’s National Award win stands as a testament to her craft and the ability to deliver chartbusters across genres, including party numbers and love tracks. Khuda Jaane, Meherbaan, Chaleya, and Bulleya are some of the most celebrated songs by Shilpa Rao, garnering incredible love from the audience over the years.

Playback Singer- Male

PVNS Rohit won the 71st National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the song “Premisthunna” from the Telugu film Baby.

Dialogue Writer

Deepak Kingrani won the Best Dialogue Writer award at the 71st National Film Awards for the Hindi film Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai.

Celebrating the brilliance of #IndianCinema at the 71st #NationalFilmAwards!

🏆Award for the ‘Best Screenplay: Dialogue Writer’ is conferred to Deepak Kingrani for ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ (Hindi)’.@rashtrapatibhvn @AshwiniVaishnaw @DrLMurugan @nfdcindia @PIB_India… pic.twitter.com/NK4jb1K6nb

— Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India) September 23, 2025

Screenplay

At the 71st National Film Awards, Best Screenplay (Original) was earned by Sai Rajesh Neelam for the Telugu film Baby.

Editing

At the 71st National Film Awards, Midhun Murali won the award for Best Editing for the Malayalam film Pookkaalam.

Costume

At the 71st National Film Awards, the award for Best Costume Designer was given to Sachin Lovalekar, Divvya Gambhir, and Nidhhi Gambhir for the Hindi film Sam Bahadur.

Makeup

At the 71st National Film Awards, Shrikant Desai won the Best Makeup Artist award for his work on the film Sam Bahadur.

Music Direction

For the Background Music category, the winner was Harshavardhan Rameshwar for the Hindi film Animal.

For the Songs category, the winner was G. V. Prakash Kumar for the Tamil film, Vaathi.

Lyrics

Kasarla Shyam won the award for Best Lyrics at the 71st National Film Awards. He received the honour for the song “Ooru Palletooru” from the Telugu film Balagam.

Sound Design

For the 71st National Film Awards, Sachin Sudhakaran and Hariharan Muralidharan won the award for Best Sound Design for the Hindi film Animal.

Choreography

Vaibhavi Merchant won the award for Best Choreography at the 71st National Film Awards. The award was for her work on the song Dhindhora Baje Re from the film Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. This marks Merchant’s second National Film Award for choreography, with her first being in 1999 for the song “Dholi Taaro Dhol Baaje” from the film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.

Cinematography

At the 71st National Film Awards, the award for Best Cinematography was given to Prasantanu Mohapatra for the film The Kerala Story.

Supporting Actor

At the 71st National Film Awards, the award for Best Supporting Actor was shared by Vijayaraghavan for the Malayalam film Pookkaalam and M.S. Bhaskar for the Tamil film Parking.

Supporting Actress

Janki Bodiwala and Urvashi jointly won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 71st National Film Awards. They were honoured for their work in the films Vash (Gujarati) and Ullozhukku (Malayalam), respectively.

Celebrating the brilliance of #IndianCinema at the 71st #NationalFilmAwards!

🏆Award for the ‘Best Actress in a Supporting Role’ is conferred to Janki Bodiwala for ‘Vash’ (Gujarati).@rashtrapatibhvn @AshwiniVaishnaw @DrLMurugan @nfdcindia @PIB_India @DDNewslive @airnewsalerts… pic.twitter.com/23VjVtTM2O

— Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India) September 23, 2025

Child Artists

Sukriti Veni Bandreddi for the Telugu film Gandhi Tatha Chettu.

Kabir Khandare for the Marathi film Gypsy.

Treesha Thosar, Shrinivas Pokale, and Bhargav Jagtap for the Marathi film Naal 2.

About The 71st National Film Awards

The winners of the 71st National Film Awards were announced on August 1. It showcased the diversity of cinema across languages, genres and crafts. Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 12th Fail won Best Feature Film, while the offbeat comedy, Kathal – A Jackfruit Mystery, was selected as Best Hindi Film. Shah Rukh Khan (Jawan) and Vikrant Massey (12th Fail) shared the Best Actor award. Rani Mukerji received Best Actress for her powerful performance in Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway.

For more news and updates from the entertainment world, stay tuned to Bollywood Bubble.

Also Read: 71st National Film Awards: Shah Rukh Khan, Vikrant Massey And Rani Mukerji Win Their FIRST In Best Actor, Actress Category

Akankshya Mukherjee

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