MUMBAI: At the recently held 17th Asianet Film Awards, southern star Mammootty was judged as the best actor, for his performance in the film Varsham. On the other hand, actress Manju Warrier was declared as the best actress for her comeback film titled How Old Are You. While Amal Neerad's Iyobinte Pusthakam walked away with the award for the best film, Anjali Menon received the award for the best director. The most popular film award was handed over for the multi-starrer, Bangalore Days.

The award show had brands like Ujala and Nirapara as powered by sponsors. Jayasurya won the award for the best actor in a villain role. Suraj Venjarammoodu won the best comedian award.  The best script writer award was handed over to Gopan Chidambaram and Beena Paul won the award for best editing.

In the music category, Gopi Sundar was declared as the best music director for the year while Rafeeq Ahammed was presented the award for best lyricist. Haricharan was presented the award as the best male playback singer. His female counterpart, Shweta Mohan was adjudged as the best female playback singer. The best new face award was granted to Nikki Galrani.
The award gala for the Malayalam entertainment industry was held at the Kochi Port Trust Stadium and the event witnessed the presence of big names from the industry.