55th Kerala State Film Awards 2025: The Kerala State Film Awards 55th edition has yet again been a glorification of the best of the Malayalam movies not only of the established actors but also of the upcoming actors. Veteran actor Mammootty bagged the Best Actor award this year in his attention grabbing act in the movie Bramayugam, and the award to the best film in 2024 was awarded to the movie Manjummel Boys. In a press conference, Saji Cherian, the Minister of Fisheries, Culture, and Youth Affairs in Kerala announced the winners at Thrissur.
Both the filming industry in the state was characterized by the diversity of talents and creativity with both the Bramayugam and the Manjummel Boys ruling many categories.
Jury and Selection Process
The judges that evaluated the awards were a jury of seven people headed by famous actor and filmmaker Prakash Raj. It is said that 128 released movies in 2024 were put into consideration and 26 films survived to the final round. It was the careful evaluation by the jury that performed a meticulous evaluation of the performances, direction, screenplay, and technical excellence so that the awards were based on the true cinematic excellence.
Complete List of Winners
Here’s a detailed look at the top winners of the 55th Kerala State Film Awards:
- Best Film: Manjummel Boys
- Best Actor (Male): Mammootty – Bramayugam
- Best Actor (Female): Shamla Hamza – Feminichi Fathima
- Best Director: Chidambaram S Poduval – Manjummel Boys
- Best Character Artist (Female): Lijomol Jose – Nadanna Sambhavam
- Best Character Artist (Male): Soubin Shahir (Manjummel Boys), Sidharth Bharathan (Bramayugam)
- Special Jury Award for Acting (Male): Tovino Thomas, Asif Ali
- Special Jury Award for Acting (Female): Jyothirmayi, Darshana Rajendran
- Best Second Film: Feminichi Fathima
- Best Debut Director: Fasil Muhammed – Feminichi Fathima
- Best Popular Film: Premalu
- Best Story: Prasanna Vithanage – Paradise
- Best Screenplay: Lajo Jose and Amal Neerad – Bougainvillea
- Best Cinematography: Shyju Khalid – Manjummel Boys
- Best Music Director: Sushin Shyam – Bougainvillea
- Best Lyricist (Male): Vedan – ‘Kuthanthram’ (Manjummel Boys)
- Best Playback Singer (Female): Zeba Tommy – ‘Aarorum’ (Am Ah)
- Best Playback Singer (Male): KS Harisankar – ‘Kiliye’ (ARM)
Additionally, awards for technical excellence such as Best VFX, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup, Best Sound Design, and others recognized the immense skill and creativity behind the scenes.
Prakash Raj’s Bold Statements
The jury headed by Prakash Raj came up with some blunt comments on the National Film Awards. He lamented that even after Mammootty has given several critically acclaimed performances in recent times, he has not received the National Award and he suspects that there is a possibility of foul play in the whole process.
Although applauding the Kerala government in its efforts to finance films directed by women and other filmmakers of Scheduled Castes and Tribes, Prakash Raj proposed the idea of having a curating team to make sure that such films are of high quality and have a possibility of taking major awards.
He also pointed out the lack of awards in the category of children films this year, in which he wrote that the submissions failed to represent the view of children in an authentic way. It is simply not enough to cast children he said, but we must have films which children are really thinking and knowing.
Other recommendations made by the jury included the introduction of awards in dialogue writing and action choreography with the sync sound award being combined with sound mixing so as to allow high regard of sound excellence.
Celebrating Excellence in Malayalam Cinema
The 55 th Kerala State film awards did not just give accolades to the already established actors such as Mammootty; it also illuminated the light to some fresh talents, worthy storytelling, and cinema of social concern. Whether it is the heart-pounding acts in the Bramayugam or the creative genius of Manjummel Boys, this year awards give a good picture of the Malayalam cinema that is vibrant and versatile.
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To the fans and film lovers, the awards act as a reminder of the changing stories of the regional cinema, as well as a feast of talent. As Malayalam cinema breaks more and more barriers and delves into different themes, such channels as the Kerala State Film Awards make sure that the excellence of art is known and honored.