At the 71st National Film Awards, for films from 2023 and announced on 1 August 2025, 12th Fail won Best Feature Film. The Kerala Story also received a major award: its director, Sudipto Sen, won Best Direction. These are different category wins, and neither result should be mistaken for the 72nd awards, announced in July 2026.
Who won Best Feature Film, and did The Kerala Story win?
12th Fail, a Hindi-language film, won Best Feature Film. The award credits producer VC Films LLP and director Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The Kerala Story won Best Direction for director Sudipto Sen; it was not named Best Feature Film. The Press Information Bureau’s official category list records a Swarna Kamal and Rs. 3,00,000 for each of these awards.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Twelfth Fail: Hara Vahi Jo Lada Nahi | $6.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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| Category | Film | Awardee or credited parties | Language | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Feature Film | 12th Fail | Producer: VC Films LLP; director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra | Hindi | Swarna Kamal and Rs. 3,00,000 |
| Best Direction | The Kerala Story | Director: Sudipto Sen | Hindi | Swarna Kamal and Rs. 3,00,000 |
Which National Film Awards edition is this?
These are the 71st National Film Awards, honoring films from 2023. They were announced on 1 August 2025, so the award year and announcement year are not the same. The 70th awards, by contrast, were presented in New Delhi on 8 October 2024; the President of India’s account of that ceremony also records Mithun Chakraborty receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award for 2022 (President of India).
The 71st awards are no longer the latest edition. The 72nd National Film Awards, for 2024, were announced on 18 July 2026, with Article 370 named Best Feature Film (Press Information Bureau).
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#1 Best Overall
Other headline results from the 71st awards
The announcement also named Vikrant Massey for Best Actor in a Leading Role for 12th Fail and Shah Rukh Khan for the same award for Jawan. Rani Mukerji won Best Actress for Mrs. Chatterjee V/s Norway. The Press Information Bureau’s announcement of the 71st awards said the competition included 332 feature-film entries, 115 non-feature-film entries, 27 books and 16 critics’ submissions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The story behind 12th Fail
The film is based on Anurag Pathak’s bestselling novel of the same name, according to the official film page. HarperCollins India announced an English translation, Twelfth Fail: Hara Vahi Jo Lada Nahi, in 2022 (publisher announcement). Readers interested in the source story can look for Anurag Pathak’s Twelfth Fail; editions and availability may differ by bookseller.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- Rebelión en las aulas DVD
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