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55th Kerala film awards: ‘Manjummel Boys’ chosen best film, Mammootty is best actor
The announcements for best film, actors and technicians for 2024, were made by state cultural affairs minister Saji Cheriyan in Thiruvananthapuram
Malayalam survival drama ‘Manjummel Boys’, which tells the real-life gripping story of a person falling into the cavernous depths of a hill in Kodaikanal and later being rescued by his gang of close friends, was adjudged the ‘best film’ at the 55th Kerala State Film Awards on Monday.
The announcements for best film, actors and technicians for 2024, were made by state cultural affairs minister Saji Cheriyan in Thiruvananthapuram.
Actor Prakash Raj, served as the chairman of the jury that picked the winners.
Superstar Mammootty won the ‘best actor (male)’ award for his portrayal of Kodumon Potty, a feudal sorcerer with supernatural powers, in the black-and-white period folk thriller ‘Bramayugam’.
Shamla Hamza won the ‘best actor (female)’ for her role in the film ‘Feminichi Fathima’ that explores how a woman from a conservative background challenges societal norms and biases.
This is the 7th state best actor award for Mammootty while Hamza’s recognition is her debut award.
The film ‘Manjummel Boys’ in many ways swept the 55th state awards, bagging as many as nine awards including best director (Chidambaram), best character actor (Soubin Shahir), best original screenplay (Chidambaram), best art director (Ajayan Chalissery) and best sound mixing (Fazal A Backer).
Special mentions for acting were shared by Tovino Thomas and Asif Ali in the male category and Darshana Rajendran and Jyothirmayee in the female category at the awards.
‘Premalu’, directed by Girish AD, won the award for best film with popular appeal and aesthetic value.
Sri Lankan director Prasanna Vithanage won the award for best story for his film ‘Paradise’ starring Roshan Mathew and Darshana Rajendran and telling the story of an Indian couple’s ordeal as they take a trip to Sri Lanka during the country’s economic crisis.
In other categories, Sooraj ES bagged the award for best editor for his work in the Asif Ali starrer Kishkindha Kaandam while Shyju Khalid was adjudged the best cinematographer for his work in the film ‘Manjummel Boys’.
In the music department, Sushin Shyam won the ‘best composer’ recognition for his work in the film ‘Bougainvillea’ while Christo Xavier’s background music in the film ‘Bramayugam’ was also honoured. This is Shyam’s second state award.
Rapper Hirandas Murali, who goes by the name of Vedan among his fans, won best lyricist award for the song ‘Kuthanthram’ in ‘Manjummel Boys’.
KS Harisankar and Seba Tomy won awards for best playback singer (male) and (female) respectively.
