The 71st National Film Awards have crowned Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s ’12th Fail’ as the Best Feature Film, with Vikrant Massey, Shah Rukh Khan, and Rani Mukerji taking home top acting honors.
Triumph for ’12th Fail’ and Historic Acting Wins
Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s critically acclaimed film, ’12th Fail’, which beautifully narrates a young man’s challenging journey to become an IPS officer, was recognized as the Best Feature Film at the 71st National Film Awards for 2023.
The film’s lead, Vikrant Massey, shared the Best Actor award with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Khan won for his captivating double role in the action thriller ‘Jawan’. This marks a historic first National Award for Shah Rukh Khan in his illustrious multi-decade career.
The Best Actress award went to Rani Mukerji for her powerful performance in ‘Mrs. Chatterjee V/s Norway’. In the film, she portrays a mother’s fierce fight for her children. This is also Rani Mukerji’s first National Award, a significant milestone after a prolific career.
Mukerji, 47, expressed her deep gratitude, stating, “For me, this award is also a validation of my 30-year body of work, my dedication to my craft with which I feel a deeply spiritual connection.”
Jury head Ashutosh Gowariker praised Massey’s performance for its “raw honesty and emotional depth.” Gowariker also highlighted Shah Rukh Khan’s win as “historic” given his long and impactful career. Massey, 38, called it a dream come true and a privilege to share his first National Award with an icon like Shah Rukh Khan.
Direction and Popular Entertainment Recognized
Sudipto Sen received the Best Direction award for ‘The Kerala Story’. The film, which had previously sparked controversy, was acknowledged by the jury for its clarity in conveying a difficult topic. Gowariker noted, “To convey that with this kind of clarity is something that we as a jury felt was the need to applaud.”
Meanwhile, Karan Johar’s ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani’ earned the award for ‘best popular film providing wholesome entertainment’, a testament to its widespread appeal.
Other Notable Accolades
The awards celebrated a diverse range of cinematic achievements. Vaibhavi Merchant won Best Choreography for the song ‘Dhindhora Baje Re’ from ‘Jawan’. Meghna Gulzar’s biographical war drama ‘Sam Bahadur’ was honored as the ‘best feature film promoting national, social, and environmental values’.
In the music categories, Shilpa Rao won Best Female Playback Singer for ‘Chaliya’ (Jawan), and P.V.N.S. Rohit was awarded Best Male Playback Singer for ‘Premisthunna’ (Baby). Sachin Sudhakaran won Best Sound Design for ‘Animal’, which also shared the Best Music Direction award (Harshavardhan Rameshwar) with the Tamil film ‘Vaathi’ (G.V. Prakash Kumar).
‘Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery’, starring Sanya Malhotra, was named the Best Feature Film in Hindi language. The Best Screenplay award was shared by ‘Baby’ (Telugu), ‘Parking’ (Tamil), and ‘Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai’ (Hindi).
The pan-Indian hit Telugu film ‘Hanu-Man’ secured awards in the Best Film in AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming & comic) and Best Action Direction categories.
The awards for supporting roles saw a sweep by non-Hindi cinema. Vijayaraghavan (‘Pookkaalam’, Malayalam) and M.S. Bhaskar (‘Parking’, Tamil) shared Best Supporting Actor, while Urvashi (‘Ullozhukku’, Malayalam) and Janki Bodiwala (‘Vash’, Gujarati) both won Best Supporting Actress.
- ’12th Fail’ won Best Feature Film.
- Vikrant Massey and Shah Rukh Khan shared Best Actor.
- Rani Mukerji won Best Actress.
- Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji received their first National Awards.
- Sudipto Sen (The Kerala Story) won Best Director, and Karan Johar (Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani) won Best Popular Film.
The winners were selected from an extensive pool of 332 feature films and 115 non-feature films, reflecting the rich diversity of Indian cinema.
