Telangana Gaddar Film Awards 2024

The 1st Telangana Gaddar Film Awards were announced by the Telangana Film Development Corporation on 30 May 2025 to honour the best films of 2024 in Telugu cinema. It is the inaugural edition of the newly established awards.^[1] These annual awards are presented by the Government of Telangana to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema.^[2] The awards are instituted in 2025 in the honor of revolutionary Telugu poet Gaddar.^[3]

The ceremony of the Awards was held at HITEX Exhibition Centre, Hyderabad on 14 June 2025.^[4] The event was attended by Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Minister for Cinematography Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, and producer Dil Raju, chairman of the Telangana Film Development Corporation (TGFDC).^[5]

The Telangana Gaddar Film Awards (TGFA) are annual awards presented by the Government of Telangana to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema.^[6][7][8] The Telangana Film Development Corporation (TGFDC) announced the Telangana Gaddar Film Awards (TGFA) for best picture and six special awards, for the period between June 2014 to December 2024, on 30 May 2025.^[9] The awards were instituted in 2025 and honored films which released from June 2014, after the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.^[6][7][8]

In April 2025, Government of Telangana announced a 15-member jury for the year 2024, headed by the veteran actress Jayasudha.^[10] The jury received a total of 1,248 nominations across all categories. Of these, 1172 are in individual categories, while 76 entries span feature films, children's films, documentaries, film criticism, books, and other segments.^[11]

The members of the jury were as follows:^[12]

1. Jayasudha, chairperson, veteran actress
2. Jeevitha Rajasekhar, director and former actress
3. K. Dasaradh, director
4. V. N. Aditya, director
5. Nandini Reddy, director
6. Siva Nageswara Rao, director
7. L. Srinath, director
8. Uma Maheshwara Rao, director
9. Kasarla Shyam, lyricist
10. Edida Raja, producer
11. Vijay Kumar Rao, exhibitor
12. Goutham, film analyst
13. Venkata Ramana, journalist
14. Lakshmi Narayana, journalist
15. Managing Director, Telangana Film Development Corporation (Member-Convener)

Other key figures include:

1. B. Narsing Rao: Chairman of the Rules and Guidelines Committee.
2. Dil Raju: Vice-chairman of the Guidelines Committee and Chairman of TGFDC.
3. M. Murali Mohan: Veteran Actor and Senior Jury Member who participated in the selection of the decade awards (2014–2023).

Six special awards are given honoring eminent film personalities for their outstanding contribution to Indian cinema and Telugu cinema.^[13][14] The winners of the year 2025 are as follows:^[15]

Winners of the awards were announced on 30 May 2025 by the Government of Telangana.^[16] The winners were felicitated at the grand ceremony held on 14 June 2025, at HITEX Exhibition Centre, Hyderabad.^[17]

It was reported that the jury members of the 2024 awards only partially watched a few films that were nominated for the award, and winners were made according to the "whims and fancies" of the jury members.^[18]

A group of social activists have written formal letter to the Telangana Government to withdraw award presented to the film Razakar: The Silent Genocide Of Hyderabad which won in the Best Historical Film category. They argued that the film is "highly polarising" and "propaganda-driven." They criticised the jury's decision, pointing to a specific clause in the Telangana Gaddar Film Awards Regulations, 2024: “The jury must not consider films that disrupt communal harmony and cultural integrity."^[19][20]