Shah Rukh Khan’s first National Award in 33 years, but why Jawan feels like an odd choice

Dubai: The 71st National Film Awards 2023 are out, and Shah Rukh Khan—Bollywood’s most enduring, most charming superstar—has finally done it. After three decades, the king of Bollywood romance has his first National Award.

Now, as a die-hard SRK fan (the kind who claps when he reads a grocery list aloud), I’ll admit I cheered for him. But there was an exasperating eye-roll too. After all these years, after films like Swades and Chak De! India, it’s a masala vigilante blockbuster like Jawan that finally gets him there?

Don’t get me wrong: Jawan was a ride. Three hours of metro hijacks, dandy prison uniforms, a cigar-chomping SRK in a George Clooney makeover, and a father-son duo cleaning up India. It was stylish, slick and carried entirely on Shah Rukh’s shoulders. But a National Award for it? That's one glory I didn't see coming.

 It’s almost poetic. The serious, nuanced performances that could have made award juries look bold were passed over back then, and now, it’s a full-throttle action fantasy that gets the nod.

The truth is, Bollywood awards have long had a reputation: show up to the party (bonus points if you agree to dance on stage) and you often leave with a trophy. Attendance equals glory. And for the most part, we’ve all accepted that this is how private, commercial award shows work.

But the National Awards? They were supposed to be the last clean corner of the room a decade ago.

 This year’s results felt like a glossy love letter to Bollywood. 

The Kerala Story—a polarising, one-note take on women being forced to convert and recruited by IS—walked away with top honours. Meanwhile, Prithviraj's gritty Aadujeevitham, an on-the-nose survival drama, was snubbed.

As for Best Actor, SRK shares the trophy with Vikrant Massey for 12th Fail. And here’s where it gets tricky. While I am thrilled for SRK, Massey’s performance had the grit and depth that usually earns this accolade. If 12th Fail was a heartfelt diary, Jawan was a comic book drawn in neon. Both fun, but not exactly comparable.

It’s no secret that Bollywood dominates India’s movie landscape. Its song-and-dance spectacles are the country’s biggest cultural export. But India is much more than that. Malayalam, Marathi, and Bengali films consistently deliver originality and craft, and yet, every year, they get drowned out by the deafening glamour of Bollywood.

And the word on the street? Shah Rukh Khan—once one of the industry’s most fearless voices—is keeping his head down these days. His first National Award almost feels like a shiny reward for playing it safe.

This isn’t me blaming him. After entertaining us for over 30 years, he deserves recognition. The question is whether this is the film that should have been his ticket to that long-awaited honour.

 I’ve also seen how transactional this entire world can be. Years ago, I was interviewing a well-known choreographer-director, a close friend of SRK in Mumbai on the sets of Bollywood film. In the middle of our conversation, she took a call from an awards organiser and said, without a beat of hesitation: “If I’m not guaranteed an award, I’m not coming.” No shame. Just business. That single phone call explained a lot about how awards work.

And now, the National Awards feel like they’ve been caught in that same whirlpool.

For the record, this is what I wrote about Jawan when it released:

Vigilante films can be exhausting, but when the clean-up act is led by Shah Rukh Khan and Nayanthara, you can’t look away. Jawan is a glossy, over-the-top action adventure that thrives on SRK’s charisma. It’s all style, all swagger, with a pinch of heart.

Fun? Absolutely.

National Award-worthy? That’s the debate.

I love SRK. I always will. His charm is unmatched. His legacy? Unshakable. His ability to carry a film? Still superhuman. But the 71st National Awards 2023 didn’t just honour him—they also revealed how Bollywood’s glitz has managed to overshadow an institution that once stood for risk, diversity, and quiet excellence.

This year, it feels like merit quietly packed its bags and left the building.