The 55th Kerala State Film Awards were announced on Monday by Saji Cherian, the state’s Minister for Fisheries, Culture, and Youth Affairs. The blockbuster hit Manjummel Boys emerged as the biggest winner, bagging several top honours, including Best Film and Best Director.
Veteran actor Mammootty won the Best Actor award for his critically acclaimed performance in Bramayugam, while Shamla Hamza was named Best Actress for her powerful role in Feminichi Fathima.
🏆 Major Winners — Kerala State Film Awards 2025
- Best Film: Manjummel Boys
- Best Actor: Mammootty (Bramayugam)
- Best Actress: Shamla Hamza (Feminichi Fathima)
- Best Director: Chidambaram S. Poduval (Manjummel Boys)
- Best Second Film: Feminichi Fathima
- Best Debut Director: Fasil Muhammed (Feminichi Fathima)
- Best Popular Film: Premalu
- Best Screenwriter: Prasanna Vithanage (Paradise)
- Best Screenplay: Lajo Jose and Amal Neerad (Bougainvillea)
- Best Music Director: Sushin Shyam (Bougainvillea)
- Best Background Score: Christo Xavier (Bramayugam)
- Best Cinematography: Shyju Khalid (Manjummel Boys)
- Best Editor: Sooraj ES (Kishkindha Kaandam)
🎬 Special Awards
- Special Jury Award: Asif Ali, Tovino Thomas, Darshana Rajendran, Jyothirmayi (Paradise)
- Special Jury Award for Women/Transgender Representation: Payal Kapadia (All We Imagine As Light)
- Best Character Artists:
- Female – Lijomol Jose (Nadanna Sambhavam)
- Male – Soubin Shahir (Manjummel Boys), Sidharth Bharathan (Bramayugam)
🎞️ Technical Excellence
- Best Sound Design: Shijin Melvin Hutton & Abhishek Nair (Manjummel Boys)
- Best Sound Mixing: Fazal A. Backer & Shijin Melvin Hutton (Manjummel Boys)
- Best Production Design: Ajayan Chalissery (Manjummel Boys)
- Best VFX: Jithin Laal, Albert Thomas, Anuradha Mukherjee & Salim Lahir (ARM)
- Best Makeup: Ronex Xavier (Bougainvillea and Bramayugam)
📚 Literary Contributions
- Best Book on Cinema: Penpattu Thaaraal – Malayala Cinemapattukalile Pennaavishkaranangal by C.S. Meenakshi
- Best Article on Cinema: Maayunna Nalukettukalum – Malayalam Cinemayum Maarunna Bhaavukathvngalum by Valsan Vathussery
- Special Jury Award for Article: Samyathinte Vistheernam by Noufal Mariyam Blathoor
The winners were chosen by a seven-member jury led by veteran actor Prakash Raj, which shortlisted 26 films from a total of 128 entries submitted this year.
