Saji Cherian, Kerala’s Minister for Cultural, Fisheries and Youth Affairs announced the winners of the Kerala State Film Awards on Friday. With an excellent jury, the awards have come out extremely satisfactory and well deserved. The result once again shows that the winners of the Kerala State Film Awards are chosen based on merit and not just popularity.

Here’s a look at who won what:

Best Film: Avasavyuham

The film is directed, written, and produced by Krishnand RK.

Best Actor (Female): Revathy for Bhoothakaalam

After 40 years in the industry, the veteran actress finally bagged her first ever Kerala State Film Award for the film Bhoothakaalam which premiered on SonyLIV earlier this year. Revathy plays an anxious and depressed mother who lives with her son in a haunted home. Revathy even dubbed for the role herself.

Best actor (Male):

1.Biju Menon for Aarkariyam

Biju Menon plays Itty, a character much older than his real age quite convincingly. The body language and mannerisms he adds while portraying the character easily make it one of the best performances from last year.

2.Joju George for Madhuram, Thuramukham, Nayattu, and Freedom Fight

Actor and producer Joju George had a good run last year as an actor. Most of his films that were released last year saw him exceeding the benchmark as a performer. May it be the constable from Nayattu or the old guy from Freedom Fight, Joju always knows how to make the character memorable.

Best Director: Dileesh Pothan for Joji

Dileesh Pothan-Fahad Fasil combo can never disappoint. Their latest film Joji is the adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the covid stricken Kerala. An eerie and mysterious home in Idukki forms the premise for the story. Joji was released on Amazon Prime and received a lot of love from the audience.

Best Character Actor: Sumesh Moor for Kala

Debutant Sumesh Moor had grabbed all the eyeballs with his stunning performance in Kala.

Best Character Actress: Unnimaya Prasad for Joji

Unnimaya can be seen playing Bincy, Joji’s sister-in-law in the mystery drama Joji. Though not directly involved, she does aid Joji in his vicious activities. No one better than Unnimaya could have played the character to perfection.

Also read: Joji on Amazon Prime-Dileesh Pothan scores again!

Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value – Hridayam

Hridayam was one of the most anticipated films of this year. It had a theatrical run right when the theatres were about to shut due to the third wave of covid. But this in no way affected the success of the movie and people lined up in front of the theatres to watch this Vineeth Sreenivasan magic.

Also read: Hridayam Malayalam movie review-Nostalgia is the USP

Best Children’s Film – Kaadakalam

Kaadakalam explores the beautiful relationship between a father and son as the father tries to teach his son the ways of nature and the forest.

Best Story Writer – Shahi Kabeer for Nayattu

Nayattu was one of the best social dramas released last year. The story revolves around the lives of two policemen and one policewoman who get trapped in a power play and are chased by corrupt politicians. The commentary on the flawed political machinery that Nayattu offers is brilliantly portrayed.

Best Screenplay Writer – Krishnand RK for Avasavyuham

Krishnand RK successfully incorporates dark humor to address some serious concerns in Avasavyuham.

Best Screenplay (Adapted) – Joji, Syam Pushkaran

Adapting Shakespeare’s Macbeth to the Kerala backdrop could not have been done better by anyone else other than Syam Pushkaran himself.

Best Music Director (Songs) – Hesham Abdul Wahab for Hridayam

Hridayam’s album is one of the most celebrated ones in recent times with some of its songs still trending on the chart. The movie had more than 15 songs all of which received lots of love from the audience. Hesham Abdul Wahab, who composed these songs rose to fame with the success of this album.

Best Male Singer – Pradeep Kumar, Minnal Murali

Best Female Singer – Sithara Krishnakumar, Kaanekkaane

Best Music Director (Background Score) – Justin Varghese for Joji

Best Lyricist – B K Harinarayanan, Kaadakalam

Other Awards:

Best Film Editor – Mahesh Narayanan and Rajesh Rajendran for Naayaattu

Best Cinematographer – Madhu Neelakandan for Churuli

Best Sound Design – Renganath Ravee for Churli

Best Sound Mixing – Justin Jose for Minnal Murali

Best Sync Sound – Arun Ashok and Sonu K P for Chavittu

Best Choreographer – Arun Lal for Chavittu

Best Dubbing Artist (Female) – Devi S

Best Makeup Artist – Ranjith Ambady for Aarkkariyam

Best Costume Designer – Melwy J for Minnal Murali

Best Art Director – A V Gokuldas for Thuramukham

Best Visual Effects – Andrew D’crus for Minnal Murali

Best Colorist – Liju Prabhakar for Churuli

Special Jury mention – Jeo Baby for Freedom Fight

Special Jury Award – Sherry Govindan for Avanovilona

A Special Award for the Promising Debut in Direction – Krishnendu Kalesh for Prappeda

Image Courtesy: YouTube