It was the day for Malayalam films as at the 65th National Film Awards, the mollywood cinema has won awards in many categories.

Mollywood brought home the awards for Best Director (Jayaraj, Bhayanakam), Best Male Playback Singer (K.J. Yesudas, Viswasapoorvam Mansoor), and Best Film on Social Issues (Aalorukkam) and Best Original Screenplay (Sajeev Pazhoor, Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum). Critically acclaimed film Take Off and actress Parvathy received special jury mentions. The emotionally-intense Aalorukkam follows a 75-year- old Thullal artist who sets out in search of his son who left home 16 years ago. Actor Indrans, for his spectacular performance in the film, bagged his first state award for best actor recently. Santhosh Raman also bagged the award for Best Production Design for Take Off.

While director Jayaraj bagged another award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Bhayanakam, Nikhil S. Praveen brought home the award for Best Cinematography for the same film. The film, based on a chapter in the epic novel Kayar by Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, tells the story of Kuttanad in the pre- Independence era when youngsters, in large numbers, joined the army to fight in World War II. Aneez K. Mappila's The Slave Genesis, based on the Paniya community of Kerala's Wayanad district, won the award for Best Anthropological film in the non-feature film category.

Jury Chairman Shekhar Kapur acknowledged the big strides that regional cinema, he said, “Bollywood films cannot compete with these regional films, not at the state in which they are”.