Actor Sachana Namidass is on the top of the world following the announcement of her National Film Award win for her performance in Vijay Sethupathi's critically-acclaimed 2024 film Maharaja, directed by Nithilan Saminathan. The up-and-coming actor won the Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the film.

Over a phone call, the actor tells Cinema Express that it was a "dream-come-true" moment for her. "I was informed by Nithilan sir that they had submitted our names for Maharaja a month ago. He said there is a possibility for an award or two. I was hoping we'd bag it and I now feel like I've manifested it. I didn't expect us to win, but in the corner of my heart, I wanted this," she says, underlining that the award feels special as it has come for her debut film.

Released in 2024, Maharaja revolved around a barber Maharaja (Vijay Sethupathi) in Chennai who goes to the police station to retrieve his stolen dustbin named 'Lakshmi', only for the police to find that the truth is murkier than it seems. The film was a major critical and commercially successful venture at the box office.

Sachana Namidass, in her major film debut, played Vijay Sethupathi's daughter. Heaping praise on Vijay Sethupathi for guiding through her first film, she says, "Without his guidance, I wouldn't have been where I am today. He gave me many valuable suggestions on set. Nithilan sir also gave me the freedom to perform my best.". For the unversed, Maharaja marked Vijay Sethupathi's 50th film as the lead actor. Sachana shares her award with actor Sanjay Mishra who won it for the Hindi film Bhakshak (2024).

Talking about the reactions to her win, Sachana adds, "While my parents are extremely happy, it was my twin sister who felt very emotional for my win. In fact, she cried more than me. I want to dedicate this award to her."

In an interesting turn of events, Sachana later entered Bigg Boss Tamil season 8 which was hosted by Vijay Sethupathi. While she was evicted on day 1, she entered the reality show once again on day 5 and stayed until the 63rd day. She was also a part of JioHotstar's Heart Beat season 2. Sachana is currently working on two films, the details of which she refuses to disclose to the media at this time, but hoped that their announcements will come soon.

Besides Sachana, noted stunt choreographer Anl Arasu bagged a National Award for the Best Action Choreography in the film.