'Just my first love letter to you': 'Jawan' director Atlee congratulates Shah Rukh Khan for National Award

Atlee, who directed Jawan, said he felt "emotional and inspiring" to be part of the journey.

The filmmaker wrote on X, "Feeling blessed, @iamsrk sir. I’m super happy that you’ve got the national award for our movie Jawan. It feels very emotional and inspiring to be part of your journey. Thank you for trusting me and giving this film, sir. It’s just my first love letter to you; a lot more to come, sir.

"Thank you, @gaurikhan ma’am, and @RedChilliesEnt for giving this film to us, and special thanks to @poojadadlani, @_gauravverma, @karuna_badwal,Aalif sir and my team, @dop_gkvishnu, @livingstonruben ,@muthurajthangavel @kunalrajan, my direction team and special thanks to @anirudhofficial bro for giving great songs and music to Jawan, and congratulations for the chaleya song."

"Super, super, super happy for @shilparao to get one more national award for jawan Chaleya I feel so, so happy and emotional. This is one of my life’s most important moments; shah rukh sir being near you itself is a great blessing, sir. As a fanboy, working with you and making a film and presenting it in a mass mode of SRK, sir, is a pure, pure blessing from God, and finally, God is so kind to give us back the greatest moment in our life . Can’t ask for more, sir. This is more than enough for me; I’m the best fanboy of yours, sir. Love you. Love you. Love you. Lots of love sir," he added.

In a video message, an injured SRK turned emotional and expressed his gratitude to his fans, directors, his management team and family for the big achievement.

"Namaskar and Adab. Needless to say I'm overwhelmed with gratitude, pride and humility. To be honoured with the National Award is a moment that I will cherish for a lifetime. Thank you so much to the jury, the chairman and to the INB ministry and to everyone who thought I was worthy of this honour," the 59-year-old said.

Thanking his directors and team, SRK said, "I want to thank all my directors and writers, especially for the year 2023. So thank you, Raju sir. Thank you, Saeed, and especially thanks to Atlee sir and his team for giving me the opportunity in Jawan and trusting me to deliver and be worthy of this award. Atlee sir, this is like you say, mass.

"I want to thank my team and management, which works tirelessly with me. They bear with me my eccentricities and impatience and give me their full attention and make me look much better than I am, like even now in this video. This award without the perseverance and love would not be possible at all. Thank you so much for everything you do."

He mentioned his kids and wife Gauri Khan for taking care of him like a kid.

"My wife and kids, who over the last few years give me so much more love and care as if I am the kid in the house and want only the best for me. They know my obsession with cinema takes me away from them, but they all bear it with a smile and allow me the time. So thank you very much for that," Khan said.

While speaking about the importance of the National Award in his life, the superstar said, "A national award is not just about achievement. It's a reminder that what I do matters. It tells me to keep going, keep working hard, keep creating, and keep serving cinema. In a world full of noise, to be heard, truly heard, is a blessing. And I promise to use this recognition not as a finish line, but as fuel to continue striving, learning, and giving back. The award merely a reminder."

Jawan is an action-based political commentary where several social issues of the country were raised.

SRK has been named as the Best Actor jointly with Vikrant Massey, who won for 12th Fail.

In 12th Fail, Vikrant played the role of Manoj Kumar Sharma, who became an IPS officer battling poverty.

Senior actress Rani Mukerji won the National Award for Best Actress for her role in Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway, which is based on the real-life story of Sagarika Chakraborty, whose children were taken away by Norwegian authorities over cultural differences in parenting in 2011.