| Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor | |
|---|---|
 Mammootty is the recent winner in 2023 | |
| Awarded for | Best performance by an actor in a Malayalam film |
| Sponsored by | Kerala State Chalachitra Academy |
| Reward(s) | ₹100,000 (US$1,200) |
| First awarded | 1969 |
| Last awarded | 2023 |
| Most recent winner | Mammootty |
| Highlights | |
| Most awards | Mohanlal (6) Mammootty (6) |
| Total awarded | 54 |
| First winner | Sathyan |
| Website | keralafilm |
The Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor is an award, begun in 1969, presented annually at the Kerala State Film Awards of India to an actor for best performance in a Malayalam film. Until 1997, the awards were managed directly by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Kerala. Since 1998, the awards have been constituted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, an autonomous, non-profit institution functioning under the Department of Cultural Affairs.[1] The awardees are decided by a jury constituted every year.[2] They are announced by the Minister for Cultural Affairs and are presented by the Chief Minister.[3]
Throughout the years, accounting for ties and repeat winners, the government has presented 54 Best Actor awards to 35 actors. The recipients receive a figurine, a certificate, and a cash prize of ₹100,000 (US$1,200).[4][5] Several actors have won the honour for more than one film in a given year. As of 2020, the only actor to have won the prize in consecutive years is Bharat Gopy, in 1982 and 1983.
The first Kerala State film Awards ceremony was held in 1970 with Sathyan receiving the award for Kadalpalam (1969). In 1981, Nedumudi Venu received the honour for his performance in various films released that year. As of 2023, Mohanlal and Mamooty are the most honoured actors with six awards each. Two actors—Bharat Gopy and Murali—have won the award four times. Prithviraj Sukumaran is the youngest recipient at age 24 for Vaasthavam (2006); he replaced Mohanlal, who held this distinction for 20 years from 1986.[a] There were five years when there was a tie for the winner—Rajit Kapur and Murali shared the honour in 1998, Fahadh Faasil and Lal in 2013, Nivin Pauly and Sudev Nair in 2014, Jayasurya and Soubin Shahir in 2018, and Biju Menon and Joju George in 2021. The recent winner is Mammootty for Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam (2023).
- ^ Festival Book. Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. 2004. p. 8. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016.
- ^ India Today International. Living Media. 1999. p. 52. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
- ^ "State film awards". The Hindu. 25 December 2015. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ^ "Cabinet amends norms governing State film awards". The Hindu. 14 May 2015. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ^ "'Charlie' sweeps Kerala State Film Awards". Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 1 March 2016. Archived from the original on 15 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
- ^ Vasudevan, Aishwarya (14 September 2015). "Prithviraj: Lesser known facts". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
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