Sreeleela, who is cloud nine after her 2023 film Bhagavanth Kesari with Nandamuri Balakrishna won the Best Telugu Film award at the 71st National Film Awards, penned a heartfelt note on her Instagram handle dedicating the team's win to "every daughter who dares to dream big and roar louder."
She shared the film's poster on her story which underlined Banao Beti Ko Sher’ (Make the Daughter a Lion), she said, "Still remember the narration. My soul was in this film. I learnt so much from this and so has every girl who has watched it." On the caption of the post, she wrote, "This was the film closest to my heart. With your immense love and support, this message now echoes nationwide as Bhagavanth Kesari bag the Best Film Award at the 71st National Film Awards."
Expressing gratitude to the jury members, she said, "Heartfelt thanks to the respected jury for recognising our effort, and deepest gratitude to Nandamuri Balakrishna Garu for his unwavering belief and relentless support throughout this journey."
Bhagavanth Kesari marked Balakrishna's 108th film and is written and directed by Anil Ravipudi. The film follows the story of Nelakonda. Bhagavanth Kesari, an ex-cop and ex-prisoner, takes on the responsibility of raising Vijayalakshmi ‘Viji’ following her father’s sudden death.
Bhagavanth Kesari was backed by Sahu Garapati and Harish Peddi under the banner Shine Screens Cinema. Thaman is the music composer of the film, with cinematography by C Ram Prasad, editing by Tammiraju, production design by Rajeevan and action choreography by V Venkat.