'Aadu Jeevitham' wins big at 54th Kerala State Film Awards

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: 'Aadu Jeevitham', a survival drama film, won key awards, including Best Director and Best Actor, as the Kerala government announced the 54th State Film Awards for 2023 on Friday.

Malayalam film star Prithviraj Sukumaran, who played the role of Najeeb, a Kerala migrant worker in a Gulf country struggling to survive in the harsh desert environment, was selected as Best Actor.

'Aadu Jeevitham' director Blessy, was awarded Best Director.

The film also won the Best Popular Film Award, and K R Gokul, who played a supporting role in the movie, along with Prithviraj, received a Special Jury Mention for his performance in the same film.

The movie is based on the novel of the same name by writer Benyamin.

Blessy also won the award for best script adaptation for 'Aadu Jeevitham', while Rasool Pookkutty and Sarath Menon shared the award for best sound design/mixing for the same movie.

Reacting to the awards, Prithviraj said he was "extremely happy", not just because he received an award for Best Actor, but also because the film received so many accolades.

Leading actor Urvasi and Beena R Chandran shared the Best Actor (female) award for their roles in the movies 'Ullozhukk' and 'Thadavu', respectively.

The critically acclaimed movie "Kaathal – The Core", directed by Jeo Baby and starring Mammooty and Jyothika, was adjudged the best movie.

Actor Vijayaraghavan won the best character artist award for his role in the movie "Pookkalam". Sreeshma Chandran won the best character artist award for woman for her role in the movie "Pombillai Orumai".

Well-known music composer Vidhyadharan Master, who has composed several popular songs in Malayalam, won the best playback singer (male) award for the first time in his career for his rendition of the song "Pathiranennorthoru Kanavil" from the movie "Jananam 1947 Pranayam Thudarunnu".

Ann Ami won the best playback singer (female) award for the song "Thingalpoovin Ithalaval" from the movie "Paachuvum Albhuthavilakkum".

Justin Varghese won the award for best music director for his work on the songs in the movie "Chaver". Mathews Pulikkan won the best background score award for his work on the movie "Kaathal - The Core".

Rohit M G Krishnan won the award for best original script for the movie "Iratta".

Sunil K S, who meticulously captured the desert scenes in the movie "Aadu Jeevitham", won the award for best cinematography.

Visual effects engineers Andrew D'cruz and Vishakh Babu won the award for best visual effects for recreating the devastating impacts of the 2018 Kerala floods in the movie "2018: Everyone is a Hero". Art director Mohandas won the award for best art direction for his work on the same movie.

Sudhi Kozhikode, who played the role of Mammooty's male partner in the movie "Kaathal, The Core", and Krishnan, who acted in the movie "Jaivam", won a special jury mention for acting.

The movie "Gaganachari", directed by Arun Chandu, also won a special jury award.

The jury, chaired by noted filmmaker Sudhir Mishra, expressed great satisfaction with the quality of the movies that competed.

He expressed his amazement at the quality and variety of movies in the competition, stating that Malayalam movies have always inspired filmmakers across India.

A record-breaking 160 films were submitted for award consideration in 2023, the highest number in the history of the Kerala State Film Awards.

The main jury was then divided into two groups, with each team watching 80 films. The jury subsequently shortlisted 35 films and recalled three other films that the preliminary jury had previously dropped.

Thus, a total of 38 films were considered for the awards by the final jury. Notably, 22 of these films were directed by debutants.

Speaking to the media after announcing the awards, Kerala Minister for Culture Saji Cheriyan said that the jury had submitted some recommendations, which would be considered after organising a major cinema conclave in Kochi.

"The conclave will bring together all those working in the Malayalam film and television industry. As the Malayalam film industry is growing rapidly, with many youngsters entering the field, the conclave will seek recommendations from the industry on how to enhance facilities to facilitate faster growth," Cheriyan said.