Thrissur: The 55th Kerala State Film Awards were announced in Thrissur on Monday by Minister of Culture Saji Cherian, celebrating outstanding achievements in Malayalam cinema.

Legendary actor Mammootty bagged the Best Actor award for his powerful performance as Kodumon Potti in Rahul Sadasivan's critically acclaimed film Bramayugam. The megastar won the title ahead of strong contenders including Asif Ali, Vijayaraghavan, Tovino Thomas, and Soubin Shahir. This is the seventh state award for the exceptional actor, a record in Malayalam cinema.

Shamla Hamza won the Best Actress award for her exceptional portrayal in Feminichi Fathima. The film also earned Fazil Muhammed the award for Best Debut Director, while it was named Best Second Film.

Manjummel Boys, directed by Chidambaram, emerged as the biggest winner of the night, sweeping 10 awards including Best Film and Best Director. The film, which captivated audiences across Kerala, also won in several technical categories such as Best Cinematography (Shyju Khalid), Best Lyricist (Vedan), Best Art Direction (Ajayan Chalissery), Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Design, and Best Processing Lab Work.

In the acting categories, Lijomol was named Best Character Actress for Nadanna Sambhavam. Soubin Shahir (Manjummel Boys) and Sidharth Bharathan (Bramayugam) shared the award for Best Character Actor.

Other awards

The Special Jury Awards went to Paradise, directed by Prasanna Vithanage, while actors Jyothirmayi (Bougainvillea) and Darshana Rajendran (Paradise) received special mentions for their performances.

Tovino Thomas (ARM) and Asif Ali (Kishkindha Kaandam) also received special jury mentions, underlining their strong performances during the year.

Among other notable recognitions, Christo Xavier won Best Background Score for Bramayugam, and Sushin Shyam was honoured as Best Music Director. Harisankar won Best Male Playback Singer (ARM), while Seba Tomy clinched Best Female Playback Singer (Am Ah).

Technical brilliance was also acknowledged - Sooraj E S won Best Editor (Kishkindha Kaandam), Ronex Xavier took home Best Makeup Artist (Bougainvillea, Bramayugam), and Sameera Saneesh was named Best Costume Designer (Rekhachithram, Bougainvillea).

In the literature on cinema section, Penpaattu Tharakal by C.S. Meenakshi was chosen as Best Book on Cinema, while Marayunna Nalukettukal by Dr. Valsan Vathussery bagged the award for Best Article on Cinema.

The Most Popular Film of the year was Premalu, continuing its dominance even beyond box office success.

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