Kerala State Awards 2023: Mohanlal sends 'special love & congrats' to Mammootty

The 53rd Kerala State Awards have been announced, and congratulations have been pouring in for the winners, which consisted of both veterans and new faces.

Among those who celebrated the wins was superstar Mohanlal, who has sent his wishes through social media. He lauded Mammootty for winning his sixth state award for Best Actor for his performance in Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam. Mohanlal also praised director Mahesh Narayanan, actor Kunchacko Boban, and actress Vincy Aloshious for winning the state awards.

Mohanlal's post read, "Calling for a loud round of applause for all the winners of the Kerala State Film Awards 2023! Special love & congrats to Mammootty - my Ichakka, Mahesh Narayan, Kunchacko Boban and Vincy Aloshious! Keep rocking!"

Mammootty thanked Lalettan in the comments section of the post, which was his first response after receiving the award.

The actor played James, a theatre artist, and Sundaram, who is another persona of James, in Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam. The film was bankrolled by Mammootty, and also won the Best Picture award.

Vincy won the Best Actress award for the film Rekha, which is helmed by Jithin Issac Thomas. She played Rekha, a young woman who embarks on a revenge path after her father's death. The film did not do well at the box office but was acclaimed after its release on OTT.

Mahesh Narayanan was selected as the Best Director for the film Ariyippu. It had earlier won the Golden Leopard Award for Best Film at the Locarno Film Festival. The movie was screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala and was later released worldwide through Netflix. The film revolves around the exploitation that women workers face in a factory.

Dulquer Salmaan also lauded his father's achievement by posting a picture of him from the film Bheeshma Parvam, with the caption "Bestest."

The Kerala State Awards were announced by the Art and Culture Minister, Saji Cherian.

A total of 154 films were evaluated by the jury, which had Goutam Ghose as its head, who is an acclaimed director, screenwriter, and cinematographer who works predominantly in the Bengali film industry.

The announcement of awards was scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed following the demise of former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.