Naga Chaitanya, Rashmika honored at Telangana Gaddar Film Awards
What's the story
The Telangana government has announced the winners of the 2025 Gaddar Telangana Film Awards. The prestigious awards, named after revolutionary poet and balladeer Gaddar, were launched in 2025 as a replacement for the Nandi Awards. This year, actors Naga Chaitanya and Rashmika Mandanna won Best Actor and Best Actress, respectively, for their performances in Thandel and The Girlfriend.
Other winners
Best films of the year
Raju Weds Rambai won the Best Film award, while Dhandoraa and The Great Pre-Wedding Show secured the second and third Best Film honors, respectively. Thandel received the award for Best Feature Film on National Integration, and Court was honored as the Best Social Message Film. Little Hearts won the Best Debut Feature Film award, and Sankranthiki Vasthunam was named the Best Popular/Entertainment Film.
Additional awards
Winners in the technical categories
In the technical categories, Mirai's Karthik Ghattamaneni and Sreekar Prasad were awarded Best Cinematographer and Best Editor, respectively. The Best Supporting Actor award went to Shivaji for Dhandoraa, while Bhumika won Best Supporting Actress for Euphoria. Mark Robin was named the Best Music Director for Dhandoraa, with Anurag Kulkarni (Raju Weds Rambai) and Sahithi (Kannappa) winning Best Male and Female Playback Singers, respectively.
Special honors
Special awards for cinematic icons
The 2025 Gaddar Telangana Awards also honored several cinematic icons with special awards. Megastar Chiranjeevi received the NTR National Award, while actor-director Kamal Haasan got the Paidi Jayaraj Award. Veteran female actor Jayasudha was honored with the Akkineni Nageswara Rao Award, and Suddala Ashok Teja received the C. Narayana Reddy (CINARE) Award. The Kantha Rao Award went to R Narayana Murthy, while Sangeetam Srinivasa Rao received the BN Reddy Award.
Film honors
Other notable winners
The film Champion, starring Roshan Meka, won multiple awards, including Best Art Direction (Thota Tharani), Best Action Choreography (Peter Hein), and Best Dance Choreography (Aata Sandeep). Raju Weds Rambai's Chaitu Jonnalagadda was awarded Special Jury Male Actor, while Ananthika Sanilkumar of 8 Vasanthalu took home the Special Jury Female Actor award. The Special Jury Hero award went to Meka for his performance in Champion.