The 72nd National Film Awards will be presented by the President of India at Ekta Nagar (Kevadia), Gujarat, on September 22.
The ceremony will bring together filmmakers, actors, technicians and other artists from across the country to honour outstanding achievements in Indian cinema for the year 2024.
Instituted in 1954, the National Film Awards are among the country’s most prestigious honours for excellence in cinema. Over the past seven decades, the awards have recognised creative and technical achievements across feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema, while reflecting India’s linguistic, cultural and regional diversity.
As part of a policy initiative by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the National Film Awards are being organised at different locations across the country rather than being confined to the national capital. The ceremony at Ekta Nagar is intended to reflect the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’.
The 72nd National Film Awards recognise films across a wide range of languages, genres and cinematic forms. ‘Article 370’ has been adjudged the Best Feature Film, while ‘Bhangaar’ has been chosen as the Best Non-Feature Film and ‘Ram-Nami’ as the Best Documentary.
Mammootty for ‘Bramayugam’ and Kartik Aaryan for ‘Chandu Champion’ have been named Best Actors in a Leading Role. Yami Gautam will receive the Best Actress in a Leading Role award for ‘Article 370’.
Randeep Hooda will receive the Best Debut Director award for ‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’.
The awards also recognise excellence in films in Marathi, Santhali, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Tulu and Garhwali, among other languages. Films including ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, ‘Amaran’, ‘Pushpa: The Rule Part-02’, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ and ‘Stree 2’ will also receive honours in various categories.
For the first time, a Santhali film will be honoured in the Non-Feature Film section of the National Film Awards.
In the Best Writing on Cinema category, Sanjeev Shrivastava has been named Best Film Critic. The Best Book on Cinema award will be presented to Dr Pradeep Kenchanuru for ‘Naaniruvude Nimagaagi Naadiruvude Nanagaagi: Kannada Cinemada Thathva matthu Rajakeeya’, translated as ‘I Stand for You, the State Stands for Us: Political and Philosophical Dimensions of Kannada Cinema’, published by Mirror Pusthaka.
