National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam explained

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam
Subheader:	National award for contributions to Indian Cinema
Awarded For:	Best Malayalam Feature Film(s) of the year
Sponsor:	Directorate of Film Festivals
Firstawarded:	1954
Lastawarded:	2022
Former Name:	President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Malayalam (1954–68)
Holder Label:	Most recent winner
Holder:	Saudi Vellakka
Award1 Type:	Total awarded
Award1 Winner:	78
Award2 Type:	First winner
Award2 Winner:	Neelakuyil

The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus).

The National Film Awards, established in 1954, are the most prominent film awards in India that merit the best of the Indian cinema. The ceremony also presents awards for films in various regional languages.

Awards for films in seven regional language (Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu) started from 2nd National Film Awards which were presented on 21 December 1955.^[1] Three awards of "President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film", "Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Feature Film" and "Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film" were instituted. The later two certificate awards were discontinued from 15th National Film Awards (1967).

The first winner of the "President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Malayalam" was the 1954 film Neelakuyil. Jointly directed by P. Bhaskaran and Ramu Kariat, the film was based on a story written by Malayalam writer Uroob. It told the story of a love affair between a Dalit girl and an educated, high caste school teacher. The film is considered landmark in Malayalam cinema history.^[2] Along with Neelakuyil, S. S. Rajan directed film Sneha Seema was honoured with a Certificate of Merit. Following is the list of Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal) recipient films produced in Malayalam language.

Winners

Award includes 'Rajat Kamal' (Silver Lotus Award) and cash prize. Following are the award winners over the years:

List of award films, showing the year (award ceremony), producer(s), director(s) and citation
Year	Film(s)	Producer(s)	Director(s)	Citation
1954	Neelakuyil	Chandrathara Productions	P. Bhaskaran Ramu Kariat
	Snehaseema	Associate Pictures	S. S. Rajan
1955	No Award				^[3]
1956	No Award				^[4]
1957	Padatha Painkili	Neela Productions	P. Subramaniam		^[5]
1958	Nairu Pidicha Pulivalu	T. E. Vasudevan	P. Bhaskaran		^[6]
	Randidangazhi	Neela Productions	P. Subramaniam
1959	Chathurangam	Capt. (Dr.) G. T. Joshua	J. D. Thottan D. V. Swamy		^[7]
1960	No Award				^[8]
1961	Mudiyanaya Puthran	Chandrathara Productions	Ramu Kariat		^[9]
	Kandam Becha Kottu	Modern Theatres	T. R. Sundaram
	Sabarimala Ayyappan	K. Kuppuswamy	S. M. Sriramulu Naidu
1962	Puthiya Akasam Puthiya Bhoomi	Associated Producers	M. S. Mani		^[10]
	Kalpadukal	T. R. Raghavan	K. S. Anthony
1963	Ninamaninja Kalpadukal	K. V. Bhavadas N. K. Karunakara Pillai K. Parameshwaran Nair	N. N. Pisharody		^[11]
	Doctor	H. H. Ebrahim	M. S. Mani
	Kalayum Kaminiyum	Neela Productions	P. Subramaniam
1964	Aadyakiranangal	P. Bhaskaran V. Abdullah	P. Bhaskaran		^[12]
	Kudumbini	P. A. Thomas J. Sasikumar	P. A. Thomas J. Sasikumar
	Thacholi Othenan	T. K. Pareekutty	S. S. Rajan		^[13]
1965	Kavyamela	T. E. Vasudevan	M. Krishnan Nair		^[14]
	Odayil Ninnu	P. Ramaswamy	K.S.Sethumadhavan
	Murappennu	K. Parameswaran Nair	A. Vincent
1966	Kunjali Marikkar	T. K. Pareekutty	S. S. Rajan
1967	Anveshichu Kandethiyilla	K. Ravindran Nair	P. Bhaskaran		^[15]
1968	Adhyapika	Neela Productions	P. Subramaniam		^[16]
1969	Adimakal	M. O. Joseph	K. S. Sethumadhavan		^[17]
1970	Ezhuthatha Kadha	Jai Maruthy Pictures	A. B. Raj		^[18]
1971	Karakanakadal	Hari Pothan	K. S. Sethumadhavan
1972	Panitheeratha Veedu	K. S. R. Moorthy	K. S. Sethumadhavan		^[19]
1973	Gayathri	A. R. Shreedharan Elayidom P. B. Ashram	P. N. Menon		^[20]
1974	Uttarayanam	Pattathuvila Karunakaran	G. Aravindan		^[21]
1975	Swapnadanam	T. Mohamed Bapu	K. G. George		^[22]
1976	Manimuzhakkam	Cartoonist Thomas	P. A. Backer
1977	Kodiyettam	Kulathoor Bhaskaran Nair	Adoor Gopalakrishnan		^[23]
1978	Thampu	K. Ravindran Nair	G. Aravindan		^[24]
1979	Peruvazhiyambalam	Prem Prakash	Padmarajan
1980	Yagam	B. Chandramani Bai	Sivan		^[25]
1981	Elippathayam	K. Ravindran Nair	Adoor Gopalakrishnan		^[26]
1982	Chappa	P. K. Abdul Latif	P. A. Backer		^[27]
1983	Malamukalile Daivam	Surya Mudra Films	P. N. Menon		^[28]
1984	Mukhamukham	K. Ravindran Nair	Adoor Gopalakrishnan		^[29]
1985	Thinkalaazhcha Nalla Divasam	M. Mani	P. Padmarajan		^[30]
1986	Uppu	K. M. A. Rahim	V. K. Pavithran		^[31]
1987	Purushartham	P. T. K. Mohammad	K. R. Mohanan		^[32]
1988	Rugmini	S. C. Pillai Gigy Abraham	K. P. Kumaran		^[33]
1989	Mathilukal	Adoor Gopalakrishnan	Adoor Gopalakrishnan		^[34]
1990	Vasthuhara	T. Ravindranath	G. Aravindan		^[35]
1991	Kadavu	M. T. Vasudevan Nair	M. T. Vasudevan Nair		^[36]
1992	Swaroopam	P. T. K. Mohammed	K. R. Mohanan		^[37]
1993	Vidheyan	K. Ravi	Adoor Gopalakrishnan		^[38]
1994	Sukrutham	M. M. Ramachandran	Harikumar		^[39]
1995	Ormakalundayirikkanam	Salam Karassery	T. V. Chandran		^[40]
1996	Desadanam	Jayaraj	Jayaraj		^[41]
1997	Mangamma	NFDC	T. V. Chandran		^[42]
1998	Agnisakshi	Srishti Films	Shyamaprasad		^[43]
1999	Punaradhivasam	N. P. Prakash	V. K. Prakash		^[44]
2000	Sayanam	M. P. Sukumaran Nair	M. P. Sukumaran Nair		^[45]
	Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal	Grihalakshmi Films	Sathyan Anthikad
2001	Dany	T. V. Chandran	T. V. Chandran		^[46]
2002	Nizhalkuthu	Adoor Gopalakrishnan	Adoor Gopalakrishnan		^[47]
2003	Saphalam	Anil Thomas	Asok R. Nath		^[48]
2004	Akale	Tom George Kolath	Shyamaprasad		^[49]
2005	Thanmathra	Century Films	Blessy		^[50]
2006	Drishtantham	M. P. Sukumaran Nair	M. P. Sukumaran Nair		^[51]
2007	Ore Kadal	Vindhyan N. B.	Shyamaprasad		^[52]
2008	Thirakkatha	Varnachithra Big Screen	Ranjith		^[53]
2009	Keralavarma Pazhassiraja	A. M. Gopalan	T. Hariharan		^[54]
2010	Veettilekkulla Vazhi	B. C. Joshi	Dr. Biju		^[55]
2011	Indian Rupee	August Cinema	Ranjith		^[56]
2012	Celluloid	Kamal Ubaid	Kamal		^[57]
2013	North 24 Kaatham	C. V. Sarathi	Anil Radhakrishnan Menon		^[58]
2014	Ain	1:1.3 Entertainments	Sidhartha Siva		^[59]
2015	Pathemari	Allens Media	Salim Ahamed		^[60]
2016	Maheshinte Prathikaaram	Dream Mill Cinemas and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.	Dileesh Pothan		^[61]
2017	Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum	Urvasi Theatres	Dileesh Pothan
2018	Sudani from Nigeria	Happy Hours Entertainments	Zakariya Mohammed
2019	Kalla Nottam	First Print Studio	Rahul Riji Nair		^[62]
2020	Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam	Pushkar Films	Senna Hegde		^[63]
2021	Home	Vijay Babu	Rojin Thomas	-	^[64]
2022	Saudi Vellakka	Urvashi Theatres	Tharun Moorthy	-	^[65]

External links

• Official Page for Directorate of Film Festivals, India
• National Film Awards Archives

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2nd National Film Awards. 23 August 2011.
2. News: Neelakuyil 1954. https://web.archive.org/web/20110629052729/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/11/01/stories/2008110150781100.htm. dead. 29 June 2011. B. Vijayakumar. 1 November 2008. The Hindu. 2010-12-28.
3. Web site: 3rd National Film Awards. 11 March 2011.
4. Web site: 4th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 2 September 2011.
5. Web site: 5th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 2 September 2011.
6. Web site: 6th National Film Awards. International Film Festival of India. 3 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20121020054317/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm6thNFAAward.aspx. 20 October 2012. dead.
7. Web site: 7th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 4 September 2011.
8. Web site: 8th National Film Awards. International Film Festival of India. 7 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20131012062918/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm8thNFAAward.aspx. 12 October 2013. dead.
9. Web site: 9th National Film Awards. International Film Festival of India. 8 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20161202115652/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm9thNFAAward.aspx. 2 December 2016. dead.
10. Web site: 10th National Film Awards. International Film Festival of India. 9 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20150929062243/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm10thNFAAward.aspx. 29 September 2015. dead.
11. Web site: 11th National Film Awards. International Film Festival of India. 13 September 2011. https://archive.today/20170502124428/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm11thNFAAward.aspx. 2 May 2017. dead.
12. Web site: National Film Awards (1964). gomolo.com.
13. News: Thacholi Othenan (1964) . The Hindu . 29 January 2012 . Vijayakumar . B. .
14. Web site: 13th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 15 September 2011.
15. Web site: 15th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 21 September 2011.
16. Web site: 16th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 22 September 2011. 2.
17. Web site: 17th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 26 September 2011.
18. Web site: 18th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 26 September 2011.
19. Web site: 20th National Film Awards. International Film Festival of India. 26 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20131105220349/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm20thNFAAward.aspx. 5 November 2013. dead.
20. Web site: 21st National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 29 September 2011.
21. Web site: 22nd National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 1 October 2011.
22. Web site: 23rd National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 4 October 2011.
23. Web site: 25th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 4 October 2011.
24. Web site: 26th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 4 October 2011.
25. Web site: 28th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 4 October 2011.
26. Web site: 29th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 4 October 2011.
27. Web site: 30th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 4 October 2011.
28. Web site: 31st National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 9 December 2011.
29. Web site: 32nd National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 6 January 2012.
30. Web site: 33rd National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 7 January 2012.
31. Web site: 34th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 7 January 2012.
32. Web site: 35th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 9 January 2012.
33. Web site: 36th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 9 January 2012.
34. Web site: 37th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 29 January 2012.
35. Web site: 38th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 9 January 2012.
36. Web site: 39th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 27 February 2012.
37. Web site: 40th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 2 March 2012.
38. Web site: 41st National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 3 March 2012.
39. Web site: 42nd National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 5 March 2012.
40. Web site: 43rd National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 6 March 2012.
41. Web site: 44th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 9 January 2012.
42. Web site: 45th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 11 March 2012.
43. Web site: 46th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 12 March 2012.
44. Web site: 47th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 13 March 2012.
45. Web site: 48th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 13 March 2012.
46. Web site: 49th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 14 March 2012.
47. Web site: 50th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 14 March 2012.
48. Web site: 51st National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 15 March 2012.
49. Web site: 52nd National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 28 January 2012.
50. Web site: 53rd National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 19 March 2012.
51. Web site: 54th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 24 March 2012.
52. Web site: 55th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 26 March 2012.
53. Web site: 56th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 27 March 2012.
54. Web site: 57th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 28 March 2012.
55. Web site: 58th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 29 March 2012.
56. Web site: 59th National Film Awards for the Year 2011 Announced. Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. 7 March 2012.
57. 60th National Film Awards Announced. Press Information Bureau (PIB), India. 17 April 2014.
58. Web site: 61st National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 16 April 2014. 16 April 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140416181218/http://www.dff.nic.in/List%20of%20Awards.pdf. 16 April 2014.
59. 62nd National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 24 March 2015. 24 March 2015.
60. 63rd National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 27 March 2016. 28 March 2016.
61. 64th National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festivals. 7 April 2017. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170606051143/http://dff.nic.in/writereaddata/NFA64PressNote2016.pdf. 6 June 2017.
62. Web site: 67th National Film Awards: Kangana Ranaut, Sushant Singh Rajput's Chhichhore win. See complete list of winners here. 22 March 2021. Hindustan Times.
63. Web site: 22 July 2022 . Shweta . Keshri . 68th National Film Awards Full Winners List: Suriya, Ajay Devgn jointly win Best Actor . 2022-07-23 . India Today . en.
64. Web site: 69th National Film Awards:Rocketry, Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon, Allu Arjun win big. See complete list of winners here. 24 August 2023. Indian Express.
65. News: Nyayapati . Neeshita . 16 August 2024 . 70th National Film Awards full list of winners: Brahmastra, Ponniyin Selvan Part 1, Aattam win big . en-IN . Hindustan Times . 20 August 2024.