HYDERABAD: The state government’s second Gaddar Film Awards, announced on Saturday, turned into an unexpected celebration of new voices. Instead of a predictable sweep by industry veterans, debutant directors walked away with the top three feature film honours, signalling a shift towards recognising emerging talent in Telugu cinema.
The Best Film award went to Raju Weds Rambai, based on a true incident in Telangana. The film marked the directorial debut of Saailu Kampati, who also won the Best Director award. Chaitu Jonnalagadda received a Special Jury Award for his performance in the film, while Anurag Kulkarni won Best Playback Singer for the song Rambai Nee Meeda Naku Manasu Ayane.
Dhandoraa, directed by debutant Muralikanth D, won the Second Best Feature Film award. The film examines caste discrimination in a rural Telangana village. Actor Sivaji won Best Supporting Actor for his performance, while Mark K Robin received the Best Music Director award.
Another debut filmmaker, Rahul Srinivas Lukalapu, won the Third Best Feature Film award for The Great Pre-Wedding Show. Rohan Roy from the same film won the Best Child Actor award. The small-budget film Little Hearts, directed by debutant Sai Marthand, won Best Debut Feature Film.
In the acting categories, Naga Chaitanya won Best Actor for Thandel, while Rashmika Mandanna won Best Actress for The Girlfriend. Bhumika Chawla received the Best Supporting Actress award for Euphoria, directed by Gunasekhar.
Among the special honours, Chiranjeevi received the NTR National Film Award, while Kamal Haasan was honoured with the Paidi Jairaj Film Award. Filmmaker R Narayana Murthy received the TL Kantha Rao Film Award for his contribution to socially driven cinema.
Veteran actress Jayasudha was honoured with the Akkineni Nageswara Rao Film Award, instituted this year. Legendary director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao received the BN Reddy Award, lyricist Suddala Ashok Teja was honoured with the C Narayana Reddy Award, and producer C Ashwini Dutt received the Nagireddy–Chakrapani Award. Ramesh Prasad of Prasad Labs and Prasad Multiplex was conferred the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award.
Senior journalist Prabhu won the Best Book on Telugu Cinema for Shunyam Nundi Shikharagralaku. In the Special Jury category, Roshan Meka won for Champion, Ananthika Sanilkumar for 8 Vasanthalu and Raj Rachakonda for 23, a film based on real incidents including the 1991 Chundur massacre, the Chilakaluripet bus fire of 1993 and the Jubilee Hills bomb blast of 1997.
Director Anil Ravipudi’s commercial hit Sankranthiki Vasthunnam, starring Venkatesh, won the Best Wholesome Entertainment Film award, with Ravipudi also receiving the Best Screenplay award.
Actor Nani produced Court, which won Best Feature Film on Social Message. The film marked the directorial debut of Ram Jagadish. The film Mirai won three technical awards — Best Special Effects, Best Cinematography and Best Editing — while Gunasekhar received the Best Story Writer award for Euphoria.
Several award-winning films this year, including Raju Weds Rambai, Dhandoraa and Champion, draw from stories rooted in Telangana.
Music director Mani Sharma chaired the Feature Film jury, Kanakamedala Vijay Krishna headed the Short Film jury, and Thammareddy Bharadwaj led the Special Jury committee. Writer and director Thanikella Bharani chaired the jury for Books and Critics on Telugu Cinema.
Gaddar Film Awards 2025
Special Honours
NTR National Film Award: Konidela Chiranjeevi
Paidi Jairaj Film Award: Kamal Haasan
BN Reddy Film Award: Singeetham Srinivasa Rao
Nagireddy–Chakrapani Award: Ch Ashwini Dutt
TL Kantha Rao Film Award: R Narayana Murthy
Raghupathi Venkaiah Award: Ramesh Prasad
C Narayana Reddy Film Award: Suddala Ashok Teja
Akkineni Nageswara Rao Award: Jayasudha
Feature Film Awards
Best Film: Raju Weds Rambai
Second Best Film: Dhandoraa
Third Best Film:The Great Pre-Wedding Show
National Integration/Social Uplift: Thandel
Environment/Heritage/History: EGWA
Best Debut Film: Little Hearts
Wholesome Entertainment: Sankranthiki Vasthunnam
Social Message Film: Court
Best Special Effects Film: Mirai
Best Children’s Film: Anaganaga
Technical Awards
Story: Gunasekhar (Euphoria)
Screenplay: Anil Ravipudi (Sankranthiki Vasthunnam)
Lyricist: Nandakishore (Kubera)
Cinematography: Karthik Ghattamaneni (Mirai)
Editing: Sreekar Prasad (Mirai)
Audiography: MR Radhakrishnan (Kishkindhapuri)
Choreography: Aata Sandeep (Champion)
Art Direction: Thota Tharani (Champion)
Action: Peter Hein (Champion)
Make-up: Y Govindaraju (Akhanda 2)
Costume: Chandrakant Sonavani, Ajay Kumar Nambala (Champion)
Major Awards
Director: Saailu Kampati (Raju Weds Rambai)
Actor: Naga Chaitanya (Thandel)
Supporting Actor: Sivaji (Dhandoraa)
Supporting Actress: Bhumika Chawla (Euphoria)
Actress: Rashmika Mandanna (The Girlfriend)
Music Director: Mark K Robin (Dhandoraa)
Male Singer: Anurag Kulkarni (Raju Weds Rambai)
Female Singer: Sahithi Chaganti (Kannappa)
Comedian: Krishna Teja Reddy (Jigris)
Child Artist: Rohan Roy (The Great Pre-Wedding Show)
Books & Criticism
Best Book: Shunyam Nundi Shikharagralaku — Prabhu
Best Critic: H Ramesh Babu
Special Jury
Raj Rachakonda (23)
Chaitu Jonnalagadda (Raju Weds Rambai)
Roshan Meka (Champion)
Ananthika Sanilkumar (8 Vasanthalu)
Documentary
First: Unity
(The Man of Social Justice)
Second: The First Action Hero Paidi Jairaj Prasthanam
Third: Mahamaneeshi Dr AS Rao
Short Films
First: Vanajeevi Ramaiah
Second: Mouname
Nee Bhasha
Third: Cyber Slavery
Diploma of Merit: Talli Dandrula Atma Gouravam