Kerala State Film Awards 2024: Mammootty and Shamla Hamza Shine as Best Actors, Chidambaram Wins Best Director

Thrissur: The 55th Kerala State Film Awards were announced in Thrissur by Minister for Cultural Affairs Saji Cherian. This year, Manjummel Boys, directed by Chidambaram, emerged as the biggest winner, bagging ten awards including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.

Mammootty won the Best Actor award for his remarkable performance in Bhramayugam, directed by Rahul Sadasivan. In the film, he portrayed the mysterious character Kodumon Potti. Mammootty’s win came in a highly competitive category featuring nominees such as Asif Ali, Vijayraghavan, Tovino Thomas, and Soubin Shahir.

Shamla Hamsa was named Best Actress for her role in Feminichi Fathima, while Lijomol Jose won Best Character Actress for Nadanna Sambhavam. The Best Character Actor award was shared between Soubin Shahir for Manjummel Boys and Siddharth Bharathan for Bhramayugam.

Special Jury Mentions for Acting went to Jyothirmayi (Bougainvillea), Darshana Rajendran (Paradise), Tovino Thomas (ARM), and Asif Ali (Kishkindha Kaandam).

Manjummel Boys, a survival thriller based on a real incident, was recognized for excellence across multiple categories — including cinematography, lyric writing, sound design, and art direction. The film’s director Chidambaram also took home the awards for Best Director and Best Screenwriter.

Other Major Awards

C.S. Meenakshi’s Penpaattu Tharakal was named Best Film Book, and Dr. Valsan Vathussery’s Marayunna Naalukettukal won Best Film Article. The Special Jury Award went to Paradise, directed by Prasanna Vithanage.

Fazil Muhammed was honoured as Best Debut Director for Feminichi Fathima, which also won the Second Best Film award. Premalu received the award for Most Popular Film.

In the technical categories, Shyju Khalid won Best Cinematography for Manjummel Boys, Srik Varier received Best Colourist for Manjummel Boys and Bougainvillea, and Ajayan Chalissery was awarded Best Art Director for Manjummel Boys.

Sushin Shyam was chosen as Best Music Director, while Christo Xavier won Best Background Score for Bhramayugam. The Best Lyricist award went to Vaidyan for the song "Viyarppu Thunniyitta Kuppayam.. from Manjummel Boys. Seba Tomy (Am A) and Hari Shankar (ARM) won Best Female and Male Playback Singer awards respectively.

Sayona Philip and Bhasi Vaikom received awards for Best Female and Male Dubbing Artists for their performances in Bharos. Sameera Saneesh won Best Costume Designer for Rekhachithram and Bougainvillea, and Ronax Xavier was honoured as Best Makeup Artist for Bougainvillea and Bhramayugam.

Other winners include Sumesh Sundar (Best Dance Choreographer – Bougainvillea), Shijin Melvin (Best Sound Design – Manjummel Boys), Fazal A. Baker (Best Sound Mixing – Manjummel Boys), Ajayan Adat (Best Sync Sound – Pani), and Suraj E.S. (Best Editor – Kishkindha Kaandam).

Prasanna Vithanage was recognised as Best Story Writer for Paradise, which also earned a Special Jury Mention for Darshana Rajendran’s performance.