State film awards announced. Mammootty joined Mohanlal in the tally after winning the best actor award once again. While the visually stunning Lijo Jose Pellissery film Nanpakal Neerath Mayakkum became the best film, Nna Than Kes Kodu, which was labeled as an anti-government film, became a popular film. Every time a film award is announced, something interesting and different happens. In this way, some of the curiosities of the bygone era can be seen in the film awards.
It was in 1969 that the Department of Culture instituted the Film Award for the first time. Awards were given in 15 categories that day. Sathyan was first nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Kadalapalam. Sheela won Best Actress. For the film Nadi, A. Vincent for Best Director. Kumarasambhava was chosen as the best film of 1969. Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair was selected as the second best actor and Adoor Bhavani as the actress. K.J. Yesudas and P. Leela was also the best singer.
KJ stands at the forefront of the state film awards. It is Yesudas. He has received the state award 26 times till date. MT in second place. Vasudevan Nair. MT has won 21 state film awards in various categories. owned by Agnisakshi, released in 1998, is the most awarded film. The film won nine awards that year in various fields. Shyamaprasad was the director of the film. The second position is four films. Nirmalyam released in 1973, Oru Vadkan Veeragatha released in 1989, Kerala Varma Pazassiraja released in 2009 and Charlie released in 2015 won eight awards in various categories. G. Aravindan is the director who has won the most state awards.
There are those who have proved their talent by winning the award in their first film, and there are those who have excelled in other languages and won the award. There are those who have entertained the viewers for years and have not wowed the jury and made it to the award list. Not only at the time of award announcement. While watching a movie, many people think that this performance will get an award. The unexpected awards have also shocked the fans.
In 1984, Mammootty won his first Best Actor award for his performance in the film Adiyozhukkus. But before that, Mammootty won the second best actor award in 1981. In other words, Mammootty won the best actor award in the fifth year after entering the cinema. Mohanlal won the State Award for Best Actor for the first time with his performance in the 1986 film TP Balagopalan MA. Later, he won the best actor award five times. Mohanlal finally received the State Film Award for his performance in the 2007 film Paradeshi. Currently, Mohanlal and Mammootty have six awards for best actor. In second place are the late artists Bharat Gopi and Murali. Both have won four awards for best actor. Gopi is the only Malayalam actor to bag the best actor award in recent years. Bharat Gopi achieved this feat in 1982 and 1983. Only one foreign language actor has won the government’s best actor award. Rajat Kapoor won Best Actor for his performance in the 1998 film Agnisakshi. In 2006, Prithviraj was elected the youngest actor of the year, beating Mohanlal’s record. Prathviraj achieved this feat at the age of 24 for the film Vastavam.
When it comes to heroines, actress Urvashi is in the lead. Urvashi has five state awards. Urvashi’s excellence in portraying any emotion with passion keeps her at the forefront of the audience’s mind and award list. Not only in Malayalam but also in other languages, this lady superstar of Malayalam has been honored with an award.
Sheela and Srividya are second in the list of best actress award winners. Both have three awards each. Urvashi got her first state award in 1989. The award was for the best performance in the films Mazhavilkkavadi and Varthamanakalam. Then Urvashi became the best actress of Malayalam till 1991. Urvashi has won the award in these three years for her performance in a handful of good films. Urvashi finally received the state award for her performance in the 2006 film Madhuchandralekha. Jayabharati was the first to receive the best actress award in recent years. This achievement was in 1972 and 1973. Rajisha Vijayan also achieved a rare feat in 2016 by winning the best actress award in her debut film as the heroine.
The Best Comedian Award was discontinued in 2013. Adoorbhasi was the first recipient of this award, the last to win it was Suraj Venjaramood. Bahadur, Mamukoya, Jagathy Sreekumar, Salim Kumar and others have been great comedians. In this, Suraj Venjaramood and Salim Kumar were later selected as the best actors at the state and national levels. Indrans is another actor who came from the comedy scene and impressed with his acting. He won the best actor award in 2017.
The period after 2010 is said to be an era of Newgen cinema. The film underwent many changes. And for the awards. The best actor award was shared for the first time in 2013. Fahad Fazil and Lal shared the awards that day. Later in 2014, 2018 and 2021, the Best Actor awards were shared. But it is interesting that the award for the best heroine has not been shared yet.
While counting the achievements of many people who have amazed with their acting, there are also those who have not received it. Premnazir, who acted as the hero in the most number of films, has not received a single state award. Family fan favorite Jayaram gets only a Special Jury Mention. 1983 Malayalam heroine Revathi will receive the best actress award in 2021. It is also sad that Kalabhavan Mani, who passed away with an excellent performance, went without an award. Every film award announcement is passed by sharing happiness and disappointment like this. In the meantime, some funny scenes are also common
Until 1998, the awarding was done directly by the Department of Culture, but is now under the control of the Film Academy. Controversies have also come with the award. The history of the film awards has been full of controversies that have rocked Kerala’s cultural scene, from minor hiccups and skirmishes.
