Gaddar Telangana Film Awards 2024 Winners List: Allu Arjun And Nivetha Thomas Win Best Actor Honours

Updated: Friday, May 30, 2025, 0:36 [IST]

Gaddar Telangana Film Awards: After a long hiatus of 14 years, the Telangana State Film Awards have been reinstated with a new title and renewed spirit. Now renamed the Gaddar Telangana Film Awards in tribute to the late revolutionary poet and performer Gaddar, the awards aim to honour excellence in Telugu cinema. The Telangana government officially announced the winners for the 2024 edition on Wednesday. The awards will be presented at a grand ceremony on June 14, 2025, at HICC, Izzatnagar, Hyderabad.

Veteran actress Jayasudha headed a 15-member jury panel that evaluated 1,248 nominations. Categories for the awards include feature films, documentaries, children's films, and various technical fields.

Full Winners List

Kalki 2898 AD emerged as a major winner, bagging the Best Film award and Best Director for Nag Ashwin. The film also won in technical categories such as Best Art Director (Adnithin Zihani Choudhary) and Best Costume Designer (Archana Rao and Ajay Kumar). Pottel and Lucky Baskhar were named Second and Third Best Films, respectively. The latter also won Best Screenplay (Venky Atluri), Best Editor (Navin Nooli), and a Special Jury Award for lead actor Dulquer Salmaan.

Allu Arjun was named Best Actor for Pushpa 2, while Nivetha Thomas won Best Actress for 35 Chinna Katha Kadu, which also earned awards for Best Children's Film and Best Child Artist (Arundev Pothula). Harika received recognition as a Child Artist for her role in Mercy Killing.

In the supporting categories, S. J. Suryah was honoured for Saripodhaa Sanivaaram, while Saranya Pradeep won for her role in Ambajipeta Marriage Band. Comedic performances by Satya and Vennela Kishore in Mathu Vadalara 2 were acknowledged with the Best Comedian award. The film also received a Jury Special Mention for Faria Abdullah's rap performance in "Drama Nakko Mama."

Bheems Ceciroleo clinched the Best Music Director award for Razakar, with Sid Sriram winning Best Male Playback Singer for "Nizame Ne Chebutunna" (Ooru Peru Bhairavakona) and Shreya Ghoshal earning Best Female Playback Singer for "Sooseki Aggi Ravva" (Pushpa 2). Chandra Bose won Best Lyricist for Raju Yadav, which also secured a Special Jury Award for producers Prashanth Reddy and Rajesh Kallepally.

Other awards in the feature film section included Best National Integration Film (Committee Kurrollu), which also won Best Debut Director (Sri Yedu Vamsee), Best Film on Environment/Heritage/History (Razakar), and Best Wholesome Entertainment Film (Aay... Mem Friends Andi).

Technical honours went to Vishwanath Reddy for Best Cinematography (Gaami), Aravind Menon for Best Audiography (Gaami), K. Chandra Shekar Rathod for Best Action Choreography (Gangster), Nalla Sreenu for Best Makeup (Razakar), and Ganesh Acharya for Best Choreography ("Ayudha Puja" from Devara).

Additional Special Jury Awards were given to Ananya Nagalla for Pottel and Sujith & Sandeep for their work on KA.

Under the literature section, Rentala Jayadeva's Mana Cinema First Reel was chosen as the Best Book on Telugu Cinema.

The June 14 ceremony will mark a renewed chapter for state-sponsored film recognition in Telangana. With a comprehensive list of awards acknowledging both mainstream and independent cinema, the Gaddar Telangana Film Awards 2024 aim to reflect the evolving landscape of Telugu filmmaking.

Feature Films

Best Film: Kalki 2898 AD

Second Best Film: Pottel

Third Best Film: Lucky Baskhar

Best National Integration Film: Committee Kurrollu

Best Children's Film: 35 Chinna Katha Kadu

Best Film on Environment/Heritage/History: Razakar

Best Wholesome Entertainment Film: Aay... Mem Friends Andi

Performance Awards

Best Actor: Allu Arjun (Pushpa 2)

Best Actress: Nivetha Thomas (35 Chinna Katha Kadu)

Best Supporting Actor: S. J. Suryah (Saripodhaa Sanivaaram)