The 49th Kerala State Film Awards was announced today by the state's Cultural Affairs Minister AK Balan. Kanthan: The Lover of Colour won Best Film, while Shayamaprasad won Best Director for A Sunday. The jury was headed by acclaimed filmmaker Kumar Shahani.

The top acting honours were bagged by Jayasurya, Soubin Shahir, Joju George, and Nimisha Sajayan. The first three were selected from a list of actors that included Fahadh Faasil, Tovino Thomas, Suraj Venjaramoodu, and Nivin Pauly. Nimisha was in competition with Anu Sithara, Urvashi, Nazriya Nazim, and Esther. 

Though Mohanlal and Manju Warrier were part of the race, they reportedly withdrew their names in the last minute. Mohanlal was selected for his performances in Kayamkulam Kochunni and Odiyan, while Manju was selected for her roles in Aami and Odiyan.

As per reports, around 104 films were part of the competition this time. Kanthan and A Sunday were picked out of Best Film nominees that included Jayaraj's Roudram, Shaji N Karun's Olu, Zakariya's Sudani from Nigeria, and Prajesh Sen's Captain.

The complete list of winners are as follows:

Best Film: Kanthan: The Lover of Colour
Best Actor: Jayasurya (Njan Marykutty, Captain) and Soubin Shahir (Sudani from Nigeria)
Best Actress: Nimisha Sajayan (Chola, Oru Kuprasidha Payyan)
Best Character Actor: Joju George (Joseph)
Best Character Actress: Savithri Sreedharan, Sarasa Balussery (Sudani from Nigeria)
Best Director: Shyamaprasad (A Sunday)
Best Cinematography: K U Mohanan (Carbon)
Best Story: Joy Mathew (Uncle)
Best Screenplay: Zakariya, Muhsin Parari (Sudani from Nigeria) 
Best Music: Vishal Bharadwaj (Carbon)
Best Singer (M): Vijay Yesudas (Joseph)
Best Singer (F): Shreya Ghoshal (Aami)
Best Lyrics: Harinarayanan (Joseph, Theevandi)
Best Background Score: Bijibal (Aami)
Best Dubbing Artiste: Shammi Thilakan (Odiyan)