Vikrant Massey (12th Fail) and Shah Rukh Khan (Jawan) won the Best Actor award at the 71st National Film Awards that were announced on Friday, August 1, 2025. It is the first National Award for both actors. While Vikrant has been in the film industry for more than a decade, Shah Rukh Khan won his first National Award after being in the industry for 33 years.
While talking about winning the National Award, Vikrant said, "I want to thank the Honourable Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the NFDC, and all the esteemed jury members of the 71st National Film Awards for considering my performance worthy of this recognition. I also want to thank Shri Vidhu Vinod Chopra ji for giving me this opportunity. Today, if I may say so, a 20-year-old boy’s dream has come true. I am eternally grateful to the audiences for honouring my performances and for recommending this film with such love."
The actor further stated, "It is a privilege to be sharing my first National Award with an icon like Shah Rukh Khan. Lastly, I dedicate this award to all the marginalised people in our society — those who are often looked through, and those who are fighting the socio-economic paradigm of our country every single day."
While Vikrant won Best Actor award for 12th Fail, the Vidhu Vinod Chopra directorial won Best Feature Film award.
12th Fail, which was released in 2023, was a super hit at the box office. The film had taken a very low opening with a collection of Rs. 1.11 crore. However, because of the positive reviews and the amazing word of mouth, the movie did very well at the box office and the lifetime collection was Rs. 56.38 crore.
