Hanu-Man, Bhagavanth Kesari, Parking and more: South cinema winners of the 71st National Film Awards

Nandamuri Balakrishna's Bhagavanth Kesari, praised for its powerful emotional core and empowering message, took home the Best Telugu Film award in the regional categories.

The much awaited 71st National Film Awards winners were revealed today, honoring some of the most celebrated actors and films from 2023 in Indian cinema. South Indian films and filmmakers have dominated quite a number of important categories in the 71st National Film Awards and this shows the complexity, and technical prowess of the region's filmmaking.

Best Awards for South Indian Film

Nandamuri Balakrishna's Bhagavanth Kesari, praised for its powerful emotional core and empowering message, took home the Best Telugu Film award in the regional categories. Parking, which was directed by Muthupettai and had a compelling story that appealed to viewers throughout the state, won the Best Tamil Film award. Kandeelu: The Ray of Hope won Best Kannada Film, and Ullozhokku won Best Malayalam Film in the Malayalam film industry.

Technical Mastery Acknowledged

As evidence of its technical mastery, the action-packed superhero movie Hanu-Man won two major awards: Best Action Direction and Best AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics).

Balagam took home the Best Lyrics prize, while Dhanush's Tamil film Vaathi took home the Best Music Direction (Songs) honor.

The Malayalam survival drama Everyone is a Hero won Best Production Design in 2018, which is indicative of the film's genuine and compelling narrative.

Animal won Best Sound Design, Pookalam, another Malayalam gem, won Best Editing, and Re-recording Mixer M R Radhakrishnan received Special Mention.

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Accolades for Acting

Vijayaraghavan won Best Supporting Actor for Pookalam, while Urvashi (for Ullozhokku) and Janaki (for Vash) took home Best Supporting Actress awards. The movie Baby won the prize for Best Male Playback Singer.

These accolades support South Indian cinema's status as a creative force in Indian cinema while also highlighting its artistic prowess.