Telangana Gaddar Film Awards 2025 | Telangana’s state government on Saturday unveiled the winners of the 2025 Gaddar Film Awards, honouring the best of Telugu cinema released in 2024. Telangana announced the list through the Telangana Film Development Corporation, and the jury led by filmmaker Thammareddy Bharadwaj submitted its recommendations at a press briefing.
Naga Chaitanya was named Best Actor for his turn in Thandel, while Rashmika Mandanna won Best Actress for her role in The Girlfriend. The top film prize went to Raju Weds Rambai, with Dhandoraa and The Great Pre-Wedding Show taking second and third place. These selections part of a broad list covering creative and technical honours were released ahead of an awards ceremony slated for Ugadi on March 19.
The government issued lifelong honors and honorary awards which demonstrate that the event had national boundaries. The NTR National Award will be presented to Megastar Chiranjeevi while Kamal Haasan will receive the Paidi Jairaj Award. The veteran honorees of the event include Jayasudha R Narayana Murthy Singeetam Srinivasa Rao Ashwini Dutt and Suddala Ashok Teja.
The list presents a combination of well-known movies and films that convey specific messages through their storytelling. The national-integration-themed title won its category while technical achievements in cinematography editing and sound earned recognition for both major blockbusters and smaller films that addressed social issues in that year. The awards which replaced the Nandi honours for the region in 2025 serve as a yearly state-level measurement tool to assess the strengths of Telugu cinema.
What this announcement signals for the industry is twofold. First, established stars continue to dominate headline categories, but the jury’s choices underline the growing space for films built around strong concepts and technical ambition. Second, the state’s decision to spotlight national icons through special honours reinforces the Gaddar Awards’ aim to position Telangana as both a regional champion and a player on the wider Indian cinema map. TFDC chairman Dil Raju handled the public release of the winners at the briefing.
The full winners list released today names the film and technical awardees in detail with the formal presentation on March 19 expected to be attended by many of the nominees and honourees, the Gaddar Awards look set to become a major date in Tollywood’s calendar.
