Nithilan Saminathan's Maharaja, starring Vijay Sethupathi in the lead role, has won two awards at the 72nd National Film Awards which was announced on Saturday.
While actor Sachana Namidass won the Best Actress in a Supporting Role, noted stunt choreographer Anl Arasu bagged it for the Best Action Choreography in the 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. It was also Vijay Sethupathi's 50th film as the lead actor.
Anurag Kashyap portrayed the antagonist while Mamta Mohandas, Natty Subramaniam, Abhirami, Divya Bharathi, Singampuli, Aruldoss, Munishkanth, Manikandan and Bharathiraja were also part of the cast in key roles. Maharaja was Nithilan's sophomore film after Kurangu Bommai and became one of the highest grossing Tamil films of 2024.
Sachana shares her award with actor Sanjay Mishra who won it for the Hindi film Bhakshak (2024).
The National Film Awards' jury, headed by filmmaker Jayaraj, considered films that were certified in the year 2024. The formal presentation ceremony for the event is typically held by the President of India a few months after the winners are revealed, with the exact date and venue for the 2026 distribution event to be formally declared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
