CHENNAI: Malayalam superstar Mammootty has been adjudged the best actor for his stellar performance in director Rahul Sadasivan’s critically acclaimed horror thriller ‘Bramayugam’, while the sensational hit ‘Manjumel Boys’ has been adjudged the best film by the jury of the 55th Kerala State Film Awards, which were announced in Thrissur on Monday.
The winners of the 55th Kerala State Film Awards were announced by Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian at a press conference. The jury panel, which was chaired by renowned actor Prakash Raj, included eminent professionals such as film director Ranjan Pramod, filmmaker Jibu Jacob, screenwriter Santosh Ichikkanam, playback singer Gayatri Ashokan, sound designer and director Nitin Lukose and actor, writer and dubbing artiste Baghyalakshmi.
The panel screened the 128 films that participated in the competition to select 38 films for the final round, from which the winners were selected.
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Notable among the winners announced on Monday was actress Shamla Hamza, who won the best actress award for her performance in director Fasil Muhammad’s ‘Feminichi Fatima’. The film, which was also chosen as the second best film after ‘Manjummel Boys’, earned its director Faasil Muhammad the Best Debut Director award.
‘Manjummel Boys’ topped the list by winning 10 awards including the Best Director award. Chidambaram, who directed survival thriller ‘Manjummel Boys’, not only won the Best Director award but also the Best Original Screenplay award. Soubin Shahir, who played an important role in the film, won the Best Character Actor (Male) award along with Siddharth Bharathan for ‘Bramayugam’. ‘Manjummel Boys’ also won the award for Best Sound Mixing and Sound Design. Its art director Ajayan Challissery won the Best Art Direction award, while its cinematographer Shyju Khalid won the Best Cinematography award.
Another superhit film ‘Premlu’ was chosen as the best film with popular appeal and aesthetic value.
Lijomol Jose won the Best Character Actor (Female) award for her performance in ‘Nadanna Sambhavam’. The Best Screenplay (Adapted) award went to Lajo Jose and Amal Neerad for ‘Bougainvillea’.
Special Jury Award for Acting was given to actress Jyothirmayi for her performance in ‘Bougainvillea’, Darshana Rajendran in ‘Paradise’, Asif Ali in ‘Kishkindha Kaandam’ and Tovino Thomas for his performance in ‘ARM’.
Special Award in any Category for Women/Transgender was given to Payal Kapadia for ‘All We Imagine as Light’. Prasanna Vithanage won the Best Story award for the film ‘Paradise’, which also won the Special Jury Mention award.