Mammootty has added another milestone to his illustrious career after winning the Best Actor award at the 72nd National Film Awards for his performance in Bramayugam.
Bramayugam also won the award for Best Cinematography, making it one of the biggest winners for Malayalam cinema this year.
Scripted and directed by Rahul Sadasivan, Bramayugam has already earned widespread acclaim in India and abroad. The film had earlier swept several Kerala State Film Awards, including Best Actor, Best Cinematography and Best Background Score.
This is Mammootty's fourth National Award. The honour comes just days after he was conferred the Padma Bhushan.
Widely regarded as one of the most talked-about Malayalam films in recent years, Bramayugam goes beyond the conventions of a horror thriller to explore themes of power, fear and the darker depths of the human psyche. Mammootty's portrayal of Kodumon Potti has been hailed as one of the boldest and most distinctive performances of his career.
Shot entirely in black and white, the film stands out for its visual storytelling, atmospheric sound design and striking cinematography, with Mammootty conveying the character's complexity through restrained expressions and body language.
He is sharing the honour with Kartik Aaryan for Chandu Champion.
The awards were announced in New Delhi on Saturday, with Article 370 emerging as the Best Feature Film. Yami Gautam won Best Actress for her performance in the film, while Rajkumar Periasamy was named Best Director for Amaran. Kalki 2898 AD won Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, Captain Miller received the award for Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values, and Srikanth was named Best Hindi Film.
Among the acting honours, Sanjay Mishra won Best Supporting Actor for Bhakshak, while Sachana Namidass (Maharaja) and Ropashree Varkady (Mithya) shared the Best Supporting Actress award. Dhanush received a Special Mention for Captain Miller, while his directorial venture Raayan won Best Tamil Film.
72nd National Film Awards: Complete list of winners
Writing on Cinema
Best Book on Cinema: Naaniruvude Nimagaagi Naadiruvude Nanagaagi: Kannada Cinemada Thathva Matthu Rajakeeya (I Stand for You, the State Stands for Us: Political and Philosophical Dimensions of Kannada Cinema) by Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty
Best Film Critic: Sanjeev Shrivastava
Feature Films - Top Awards
Best Feature Film: Article 370
Best Director: Rajkumar Periasamy (Amaran)
Best Actor: Mammootty (Bramayugam) and Kartik Aaryan (Chandu Champion)
Best Actress: Yami Gautam (Article 370)
Best Supporting Actor: Sanjay Mishra (Bhakshak)
Best Supporting Actress: Sachana Namidass (Maharaja) and Ropashree Varkady (Mithya)
Best Children's Film: Chinna Katha Kaadu
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Kalki 2898 AD
Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values: Captain Miller
Best Debut Film of a Director: Randeep Hooda (Swatantrya Veer Savarkar)
Technical Awards
Best Screenplay (Original): Sukumar (Pushpa: The Rule)
Best Screenplay (Adapted): Yogesh Deshpande (Swargandharva Sudhi Phadke)
Best Dialogue Writer: Venky Atluri (Lucky Bhaskhar)
Best Cinematography: Shehnad Jalal (Bramayugam)
Best Editing: R. Kalaivannan (Amaran)
Best Production Design: Nitin Zihani Choudhary (Kalki 2898 AD)
Best Costume Design: Deepali Noor and Sheetal Sharma (Pushpa 2)
Best Make-up: P. Ravi Kumar (Committee Kurrollu)
Best Sound Design: Manas Choudhary (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3)
Best Music Direction: Shashwat Sachdev (Article 370)
Best Background Score: G.V. Prakash Kumar (Amaran)
Best Lyrics: Manoj Muntashir (Jaane Do from Maidaan)
Best Choreography: Vijay Ganguly (Stree 2)
Best Action Direction: Anl Arasu (Maharaja)
Playback Awards
Best Male Playback Singer: Abhay Jodhpurkar (Gharat Ganpati from Navasachi Gauri Mazi)
Best Female Playback Singer: Vaikom Vijayalakshmi (Angu Vaana Konilu from ARM)
Regional Film Awards
Best Assamese Film: Juiphool
Best Bengali Film: Chalchitra Ekhon
Best Gujarati Film: Maaran
Best Hindi Film: Srikanth
Best Kannada Film: Mithya
Best Konkani Film: Mog Asum
Best Malayalam Film: Feminichi Fathima
Best Manipuri Film: Sunita
Best Marathi Film: Mukkam Post Bombilwadi
Best Odia Film: Lahari
Best Tamil Film: Raayan
Best Telugu Film: Committee Kurrollu
Best Garhwali Film: Dholi
Best Tulu Film: IMBU
Special Mentions
Captain Miller
Meiyazhagan
Non-Feature Films
Best Non-Feature Film: Bhangaar (Obsolete)
Best Debut Film of a Director: Ravi Raj Murmu
Best Direction: Anand L. Rai (Statue of Unity: Ekta Ka Prateek)
Best Short Film: Hamsafar
Best Animation Film: Touched as Water
Best Arts/Culture Film: Main Nida
Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction/Compilation Film: Kakori
Best Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values: Piplantri: A Tale of Eco Feminism
Best Script: Obur (Clouds) (Faraz Ali)
Best Narrator: Soundarya Jayachandran (Little Planet: A Tale of Frogs)
Best Music Direction: Shivpal Singh Kang (Parat 41°chya Magavar)
Best Editing: Manvir Jasrotia
Best Sound Design: T.S. Hari Hara Sudhan (Blue)
Best Cinematography: Edmond Ranson (Life in Loom)
Special Mention: Chola Dora aur Sui
Special Mention: Bhadra-Kali Natakam