| 1st Telangana Gaddar Film Awards | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Awarded for | Best of Telugu cinema in 2024 |
| Awarded by | Telangana Film Development Corporation |
| Presented by | Government of Telangana |
| Announced on | 20 May 2025 |
| Presented on | 14 June 2025 |
| Site | HITEX Convention Center Hyderabad |
| Highlights | |
| Best Feature Film | Kalki 2898 AD |
| Most awards | Kalki 2898 AD and Lucky Baskhar (4 each) |
The 1st Telangana Gaddar Film Awards were announced by the Telangana Film Development Corporation on 30 May 2025 to honour the best films of 2024 in Telugu cinema. It is the inaugural edition of the newly established awards. [1] These annual awards are presented by the Government of Telangana to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. [2] The awards are instituted in 2025 in the honor of revolutionary Telugu poet Gaddar. [3]
The ceremony of the Awards was held at HITEX Exhibition Centre, Hyderabad on 14 June 2025. [4] The event was attended by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Minister for Cinematography Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, and producer Dil Raju, chairman of the Telangana Film Development Corporation (TGFDC). [5]
The Telangana Gaddar Film Awards (TGFA) are annual awards presented by the Government of Telangana to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. [6] [7] [8] The Telangana Film Development Corporation (TGFDC) announced the Telangana Gaddar Film Awards (TGFA) for best picture and six special awards, for the period between June 2014 to December 2024, on 30 May 2025. [9] The awards were instituted in 2025 and honored films which released from June 2014, after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. [6] [7] [8]
In April 2025, Government of Telangana announced a 15-member jury for the year 2024, headed by the veteran actress Jayasudha. [10] The jury received a total of 1,248 nominations across all categories. Of these, 1172 are in individual categories, while 76 entries span feature films, children’s films, documentaries, film criticism, books, and other segments. [11]
The members of the jury were as follows: [12]
Other key figures include:
Six special awards are given hounoring eminent film personalities for their outstanding contribution to Indian cinema and Telugu cinema. [13] [14] The winners of the year 2025 are as follows: [15]
| Award | Awardee(s) |
|---|---|
| NTR National Film Award - Artist only | Nandamuri Balakrishna |
| Paidi Jairaj Film Award - Indian film personality | Mani Ratnam |
| Raghupathi Venkaiah Film Award - Other than film artist Telugu | Yandamuri Veerendranath |
| B N Reddy Film Award - Telugu film director | Sukumar |
| Nagireddy & Chakrapani Film Award - Telugu producer | Atluri Purnachandra Rao |
| Kantha Rao Award - Telugu artist | Vijay Deverakonda |
Winners of the awards were announced on 30 May 2025 by the Government of Telangana. [16] The winners were felicitated at the grand ceremony held on 14 June 2025, at HITEX Exhibition Centre, Hyderabad. [17]
| Award | Film | Awardee(s) |
|---|---|---|
| First Best Feature Film | Kalki 2898 AD | Producer: C. Aswini Dutt Director: Nag Ashwin |
| Second Best Feature Film | Pottel | Producer: Nishank Reddy Kuruthi Suresh Kumar Sadige Director: Sahith Mothkuri |
| Third Best Feature Film | Lucky Baskhar | Producer: Suryadevara Naga Vamsi Director: Venky Atluri |
| Feature Film on National Integration, Communal Harmony and Social Uplift | Committee Kurrollu | Producer: Padmaja Konidela Jayalakshmi Adapaka Director: Yadhu Vamsi |
| Feature Film on Environemnt, Heritage and History | Razakar | Producer: Gudur Narayana Reddy Director: Yata Satyanarayana |
| Dr. M Prabhakar Reddy Best Wholesome Entertainment Film | Aay | Producer: Bunny Vas Director: Anji K. Maniputhra |
| Best Debut Film of a Director | Committee Kurrollu | Yadhu Vamsi |
| Best Children's Film | 35 Chinna Katha Kaadu | Producer: Srujan Yarabolu Siddharth Rallapalli Director: Nanda Kishore Emani |
| Award | Awardee(s) | Film |
|---|---|---|
| Best Director | Nag Ashwin | Kalki 2898 AD |
| Best Actor | Allu Arjun | Pushpa 2: The Rule |
| Best Actress | Niveda Thomas | 35 Chinna Katha Kaadu |
| Best Supporting Actor | S. J. Surya | Saripodhaa Sanivaaram |
| Best Supporting Actress | Sharanya Pradeep | Ambajipeta Marriage Band |
| Best Child Actor | Master Arun Dev Pothula | 35 Chinna Katha Kaadu |
| Best Child Actress | Baby Harika | Mercy Killing |
| Best Comedian | Satya | Mathu Vadalara 2 |
| Vennela Kishore | ||
| Best Music Director | Bheems Ceciroleo | Razakar |
| Best Lyricist | Chandrabose | Raju Yadav |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Sid Sriram | Ooru Peru Bhairavakona ("Nijame Ne Chebutunna") |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Shreya Ghoshal | Pushpa 2: The Rule ("Sooseki") |
| Best Story Writer | Siva Paladugu | Music Shop Murthy |
| Best Screenplay Writer | Venky Atluri | Lucky Baskhar |
| Best Cinematographer | Vishwanath Reddy Chelumalla | Gaami |
| Best Editor | Naveen Nooli | Lucky Baskar |
| Best Audiographer | Aravind Menon | Gaami |
| Best Choreographer | Ganesh Acharya | Devara: Part 1 |
| Best Art Director | Nitin Zihani Choudhary | Kalki 2898 AD |
| Best Action Choreographer | K. Chandrasekhar Rathod | Gangster |
| Best Make-up Artist | Nalla Seenu | Razakar |
| Best Costume Designer | Archana Rao | Kalki 2898 AD |
| Ajay Kumar | ||
| Special Jury Award | Dulquer Salmaan | Lucky Bhaskar |
| Ananya Nagalla | Pottel | |
| Sujith and Sandeep | KA | |
| Prashanth Reddy and Rajesh Kallepalle | Raju Yadav | |
| Special Mention | Faria Abdullah | Mathu Vadalara 2 |
It was reported that the jury members of the 2024 awards only partially watched a few films that were nominated for the award, and winners were made according to the "whims and fancies" of the jury members. [18]
A group of social activists have written formal letter to the Telangana Government to withdraw award presented to the film Razakar: The Silent Genocide Of Hyderabad which won in the Best Historical Film category. They argued that the film is "highly polarising" and "propaganda-driven." They criticised the jury’s decision, pointing to a specific clause in the Telangana Gaddar Film Awards Regulations, 2024: “The jury must not consider films that disrupt communal harmony and cultural integrity." [19] [20]