Shah Rukh Khan won the award for the Best Actor—an award he won for the first time in his career spanning 33 years—at the 71st National Film Awards, the jury, led by filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker, announced at a press conference at the National Media Centre on Friday.

The veteran actor was acclaimed for his performance in the 2023 action thriller feature film Jawan. He shared the award with Vikrant Massey, who was accoladed for essaying the IPS Manoj Kumar Sharma, the protagonist of the biographical drama film 12th Fail. “I’m overwhelmed with pride, gratitude, and humility. To be honoured with a national award is an honour I will cherish for a lifetime,” Khan said in a video message. He also said that a national award is not just about an achievement. It’s a reminder that what he does matters. “It tells me to keep going, keep working hard, keep creating and serving cinema. In a world full of noise, to be truly heard is a blessing.”

Massey, on the other hand, shared three behind-the-scenes pictures taken during the shooting of 12th Fail. “We did it, sir,” Massey wrote, referring to Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the writer, producer, and director of the film. 12th Fail also won the award for the Best Feature Film. Rani Mukerji was adjudged the Best Actress for her performance in the legal drama film Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway. 

“I’m overwhelmed to have won the National Award for my performance in ‘Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway’. Incidentally, this is the first-ever National Award in my 30-year career. As an actor, I have been fortunate to have some incredible films in my body of work and have received so much love for them. I thank the National Award jury for honouring my work in ‘Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway’,” Mukerji said in a statement.

For the 71st edition, the awards received an overwhelming response with 332 feature film entries, 115 non-feature films, 27 book entries, and 16 film critics’ submissions.