For years, the National Film Awards have been the holy grail of artistic validation, often accused, rightly or wrongly, of being indifferent to Bollywood's big-budget extravaganzas.
But this year, on a seemingly ordinary Friday in August 2025, something unprecedented happened: Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji, two of Bollywood's most enduring icons, finally won their first National Awards.
And in that moment, the line between 'mass entertainer' and 'award-winner' blurred like never before.
The Big Bollywood Comeback
The 71st National Film Awards marked a dramatic shift in what had become a familiar pattern during the pandemic years: South Indian cinema sweeping top honours while Bollywood remained largely on the sidelines.
Starting around 2020, when COVID-19 disrupted theatrical releases and OTT platforms reshaped viewership, Hindi cinema entered a creative slump, while Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu films rose in stature and acclaim.
A still from Jawan
At the 70th National Awards, regional films took home major prizes, including Best Feature Film and Best Actor. Even the year before, regional films dominated categories that Bollywood once called its own. But this year, Bollywood spectacularly reclaimed its lost ground.
Hindi films won across all major categories: Shah Rukh Khan bagged Best Actor for Jawan, Rani Mukerji took home Best Actress for Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway, and 12th Fail, an inspiring real-life drama headlined by Vikrant Massey, won Best Feature Film.
Bollywood also secured awards for Best Popular Film (Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani), Best Choreography, Best Child Artist, Best Lyrics, and even Best Hindi Film (Kathal).
A still from Kathal
Compare this to last year's 70th edition, where Bollywood found itself sidelined. South Indian cinema, Malayalam, Kannada, and Tamil had a near-total sweep. Malayalam film Aattam won Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay and Best Editing, while Kannada film Kantara won Best Popular Film and fetched Rishab Shetty the Best Actor award.
Hindi cinema, despite big releases, had to settle for just six awards across all categories, and most of which were not top-tier honours.
Even the year before that, at the 69th National Film Awards, it was South Indian cinema again - Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films - that earned the critical spotlight and national jury approval. Bollywood had receded into the background, mostly with a few wins in less prominent categories.
So, What Changed This Year?
The big turning point seems to be a shift in how Bollywood now balances spectacle with story. 12th Fail, for example, is a relatively modest Rs 20 crore film, but its powerful real-life story and emotional heft made it both a critical darling and a sleeper hit.
A still from 12th Fail
On the other hand, Jawan, which cost nearly Rs 300 crore to make, blended mass appeal with socio-political undertones, something that seemed to strike the right chord with both audiences and juries.
Shah Rukh Khan, who's been in the industry for over three decades and had never before won a National Award, called the win "something to cherish for a lifetime," adding, "The National Award is not just about achievement, it's a reminder that what I do matters."
His sentiment echoed across the industry, where it was widely seen as a moment of overdue recognition.
Rani Mukerji, too, called her win a culmination of her 30-year-long career, saying: "It's a validation of my body of work, my dedication to my craft, and my passion for cinema." Her role in Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway was powerful and rooted in maternal emotion, a far cry from traditional "award-bait" drama.
A still from Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway
The Rise Of The Commercial Films
This year's awards raise a compelling question: Are we witnessing the most commercial Bollywood year at the National Awards? Going purely by the budgets and scale of the winning films, the answer appears to be yes.
Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan is one of the most expensive Indian films ever made, with a budget of around Rs 300 crore. Karan Johar's Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, which won Best Popular Film and Best Choreography, had a budget of over Rs 160 crore. Even Sam Bahadur, which won for Best Film Promoting National and Social Values, had a budget north of Rs 55 crore.
A still from Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani
Contrast this with previous winners over the last decade, and the difference is striking. From Village Rockstars (2017, budget: Rs 40 lakh) to Court (2014, under Rs 2 crore), and even Soorarai Pottru (2020, low-budget Tamil film), the National Awards were traditionally a bastion of low to mid-budget regional cinema.
Even Best Actor winners reflect that shift: 2017's Riddhi Sen won for the Bengali indie Nagarkirtan (Rs 2-3 crore). 2018 saw Ayushmann Khurrana win for Andhadhun (Rs 32 crore), alongside Vicky Kaushal for Uri (Rs 25 crore). Suriya won for Soorarai Pottru (Rs 45 crore) in 2020. In 2022, Rishab Shetty won for Kantara, a Rs 16 crore film rooted in folklore and performance art.
This year's winners, by contrast, are from distinctly big-banner productions with wide releases, international promotion and massive box-office ambition.
Why Bollywood Was Losing Until Now
In the past decade, Bollywood was often criticised for playing it too safe, chasing box office numbers with formulaic rom-coms or action flicks, while South Indian cinema led with bold experimentation, folk-rooted narratives and social commentary.
Films like Kantara, Aattam, and Thiruchitrambalam brought fresh voices and formats that made them jury favourites. South Indian films didn't just dominate the screen; they brought stories that had something to say, often without the frills or pretensions of mainstream cinema.
Bollywood, during this time, was also dealing with its internal crisis-calls for nepotism reform, creative stagnation and an identity conflict in the post-pandemic OTT boom. The result was a run of critically underwhelming films with bloated budgets and little innovation.
But in 2023-24, Bollywood slowly began recalibrating.
A Jury With New Tastes
The shift is also indicative of changing jury preferences. For years, National Award juries prioritised thematic depth, regional representation and innovation. Now, as the lines blur between "commercial" and "meaningful", especially with the rise of pan-India storytelling and streaming services, there appears to be greater openness toward recognising films that unite mass and critical appeal.
A still from Jawan
The fact that films like Jawan and Rocky Aur Rani can now be celebrated alongside indie-style entries like 12th Fail or Kathal points to a more inclusive understanding of cinematic merit.
The Final Word
Whether this year's National Film Awards signal a permanent shift or simply a new chapter in cinema's cyclical evolution remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: this was the most commercial Bollywood has ever been at the National Awards, and it didn't come at the cost of quality.
If anything, the industry finally seems to have found a way to be both dazzling and deserving, crowd-pleasing yet credible. And for stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji, who waited over 30 years for this recognition, it's the kind of validation that suggests the heart of Bollywood is still very much in the right place, even when the budgets soar sky-high.
