Why Mammootty won Best Actor; Jury Chairman about veteran actor's performance in Bramayugam

NEW DELHI: National Film Awards jury chairman and filmmaker Jayaraj has praised Mammootty's award-winning performance as Kodumon Potti in Bramayugam, calling it one of the finest performances of the year.

Speaking after the announcement of the 72nd National Film Awards, Jayaraj said Mammootty's performance was "astonishing" and described the veteran actor as someone who remains "ever youthful" in his craft. Although the Best Actor award was shared this year, Jayaraj said Mammootty's performance stood out among the contenders. He also revealed that Bramayugam was one of the jury's favourite films. According to him, the film's striking black-and-white cinematography and its unique atmosphere made a strong impression on the jury.

Jayaraj said Malayalam cinema has the most reason to celebrate at this year's National Film Awards, adding that Malayalam films performed better than those from many other languages across the competition.

He also congratulated debut director Fazil Muhammed, whose film Feminichi Fathima won the award for Best Malayalam Film. Jayaraj said singer Vaikom Vijayalakshmi's National Award was another major achievement for Malayalam cinema. He revealed that she faced tough competition from Shreya Ghoshal before winning the Best Female Playback Singer award. He also said Manjummel Boys remained in contention in several categories until the final stages of the selection process. Responding to questions about the judging process, Jayaraj said the jury evaluated every entry purely as a film and that politics played no role in deciding the winners.