National - State Awards: Mammootty in final round; Rishab Shetty and Prithviraj raising challenge

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Mammootty has made it to the final round of the National and State Awards for Best Actor. Mammootty will be challenged by Kannada star Rishab Shetty in the national award and Prithviraj in the state. Both the awards may be announced this week.

Nissam Basheer's Rorschach is being considered at the national level along with Lijo Jose Pellissery's Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam, which won Mammootty the state award last year. It was his performance in 'Kantara' that brought Rishab Shetty into competition with Mammootty.

Mammootty-starrer 'Kaathal – The Core' directed by Jio Baby and Roby Varghese Raj's 'Kannur Squad' are being considered at the state level. Prithviraj's performance in 'Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life' directed by Blessy is what brought Prithviraj to the final round of the state award. Films from the year 2022 will be considered for the 70th national award while from 2023 will be considered for the state award.

Urvashi for best actress

Urvashi is leading in the competition for the best actress award in the state for her performance in 'Ullozhukku'. Parvathy Thiruvothu for her performance in the same film and Anaswara Rajan for her performance in 'Neru' are in the final round.

Blessy's Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life, Jude Anthony Joseph's 2018, Roby Varghese Raj's Kannur Squad, Jio Baby's Kathal The Core, Rohit M.G. Krishnan's Iratta are competing for the Best Picture, Director and Screenplay awards. AR Rahman is also running for the award for Best Music Director with Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life.