The 71st National Film Awards took place in Delhi on September 23. Shah Rukh Khan and Vikrant Massey jointly received the Best Actor award for their performances in Jawan and 12th Fail, respectively. Rani Mukerji was honoured with the Best Actress award.
The award for Best Tamil Film was presented to Parking, while the Best Screenplay accolade went to Ramkumar Balakrishnan. MS Bhaskar won the award for Best Supporting Actor. The most prestigious recognition in Indian cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, was conferred upon Malayalam actor Mohanlal.
Trisha Thosar received the award for Best Child Artist. A video of the five-year-old accepting the honour from the President of India, clad in a saree, quickly went viral on social media. Her poised and cheerful walk across the stage charmed viewers, earning her enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Trisha Thosar was recognised for her role as Simi in the Marathi film Naal 2, for which she won the Best Child Actress award. Currently five years old, she was only three when she acted in the film.
She has appeared in several Marathi-language productions and first gained public attention through the television serial Aie Tuljabhavani. She later starred in the Marathi comedy crime thriller Aatli Baatmi Futli, which was released on September 19.
Trisha Thosar is presently filming Punha Shivaji Raje Bhosale, directed by Mahesh Manjurek, slated for release on January 1 next year. She now holds the distinction of being the youngest recipient of a National Film Award.
In light of this achievement, Trisha Thosar has surpassed a long-standing record held by actor Kamal Haasan.
Responding to the news, Kamal Haasan posted a congratulatory message on X (formerly Twitter): “My compliments to you. I was six years old when I received my first National Award. You have broken my record. There is still a long way to go, madam. Keep working. Congratulations to your family.”
