72nd National Film Awards: Winners List, History and Key Facts

Overview

The National Film Awards are India's apex cinematic honour. They balance artistic excellence with constitutional principles of cultural federalism, linguistic diversity, and national cohesion across regional film ecosystems.

Instituted under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the awards operationalise state patronage by recognising cinema across all Eighth Schedule and non-scheduled languages. The National Film Development Corporation now administers the framework, expanding it from a certificate regime into an active creative-economy driver.

Today, the platform extends beyond traditional exhibition to cover Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics disciplines. They remain central to how public policy, artistic freedom under Article 19(1)(a), and cultural diplomacy intersect in modern India.

The announcement of the 72nd National Film Awards for films certified in 2024 marked a notable geographic shift in cultural governance. As of September 2026, the central government scheduled the felicitation ceremony for 22 September 2026 at Ekta Nagar in Kevadia, Gujarat.

Key highlights from the announcement include:

• Historic Venue Shift: This moved the national event outside New Delhi for the first time under the Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat initiative.
• Highest Cinematic Honour: The 72nd edition conferred the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award on veteran actor Anant Nag.
• Broad Linguistic Representation: The awards celebrated multi-lingual productions across diverse regional traditions.

The origin of the National Film Awards traces back to post-independence cultural reconstruction. Following recommendations of the 1949 Film Enquiry Committee, the central government instituted the awards in 1954 under the title State Awards for Films to honour films certified in 1953.

The core mandate focused on clear cultural objectives:

• Encouraging films of high aesthetic and technical standard
• Promoting works of educational and cultural value
• Providing structured state-backed cultural patronage across feature and documentary formats

Over the decades, the platform was renamed the National Film Awards. It expanded its mandate from basic certificates of merit to substantial cash endowments and medallions.

The administrative architecture governing the awards underwent a major restructuring to streamline public resources. In March 2022, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting completed the transfer and merger of four media units into the National Film Development Corporation.

This consolidation brought the Directorate of Film Festivals, Films Division, Children's Film Society India, and National Film Archives of India under a single umbrella.

An independent, multi-tiered jury appointed annually by the central government evaluates all entries across distinct panels:

• Feature Film Jury: Evaluates national and regional narrative cinema.
• Non-Feature Film Jury: Assesses short films, social documentaries, and non-fiction works.
• Best Writing on Cinema Jury: Reviews critical film literature, historical treatises, and film criticism.

Jurors are selected from eminent filmmakers, critics, and academicians across linguistic zones to ensure regional balance.

The National Film Awards taxonomy classifies recognitions into distinct tiers based on artistic scope, cultural significance, and lifetime contributions. Following recommendations from the rationalisation committee headed by Additional Secretary Neerja Sekhar, the government revised category structures and prize endowments starting from the 70th edition.

The 72nd National Film Awards honoured certified cinematic releases from 2024, highlighting a blend of high-budget thrillers, historical biographies, and folk allegories.

The political thriller Article 370, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, won Best Feature Film. Lead actor Yami Gautam secured the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

The Best Actor in a Leading Role category saw a joint conferment:

• Mammootty for his performance in the Malayalam period mystery Bramayugam.
• Kartik Aaryan for portraying an athlete in the Hindi biographical drama Chandu Champion.

In the non-feature and literary categories, the 72nd edition recognised grassroots storytelling:

• Best Non-Feature Film: Bangaar
• Best Documentary: Ram-Nami
• Best Book on Cinema: Naaniruvude Nimagaagi Naadiruvude Nanagaagi
• Best Film Critic: Sanjeev Shrivastava

The National Film Awards advance linguistic pluralism by mandating dedicated honours for every language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Beyond scheduled languages, juries regularly recognise non-scheduled linguistic traditions.

In the 72nd edition, the Garhwali film Dholi and the Tulu film IMBU secured special category awards, validating indigenous storytelling ecosystems.

This framework strengthens cultural federalism in Indian arts:

• Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu industries routinely win top technical and screenwriting honours.
• Decentralised selections dismantle historic Hindi-centric dominance across national platforms.
• State honours offer critical visibility and archival preservation for micro-budget films that lack commercial marketing budgets.

Cinema is a primary pillar of India's cultural diplomacy and soft power projection. High-standard cinematic productions act as cultural ambassadors, generating international interest in Indian heritage and socio-economic life.

To support digital media industries, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting introduced the Best Film in AVGC category, targeting Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics.

This modern track has expanded technical recognition across mainstream releases:

• Brahmastra: Part 1 – Shiva won the award at the 70th edition.
• Hanu-Man secured the honour at the 71st edition.
• The category incentivises domestic technological self-reliance across post-production pipelines.

The operational interface between state patronage and artistic evaluation faces recurring scrutiny over institutional neutrality.

Key areas of debate include:

• Jury Dissent and Political Polarisation: At the 71st National Film Awards, feature jury member Pradeep Nair publicly revealed internal dissent, noting he formally opposed awarding Best Director to Sudipto Sen for The Kerala Story over social polarisation concerns. Jury chairperson Ashutosh Gowariker defended the decision on cinematic craft and technical execution.
• Controversies over Thematic Categories: Conferring the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration on The Kashmir Files at the 69th edition drew criticism from leaders like Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and RJD MP Manoj Jha, who argued contentious themes contradicted the award's mandate. Conversely, the jury and government supporters maintained the film documented citizen displacement, qualifying it as an examination of national integration challenges.

To preserve institutional prestige, India's cultural governance must strengthen jury autonomy and selection transparency:

• Standardised Scoring Protocols: Implementing objective rubrics across technical, narrative, and social parameters will insulate jury outcomes from political controversies.
• Global Distribution Linkages: Integrating the National Film Development Corporation's distribution network with international film festivals will turn award-winning titles into viable cultural exports.
• Enhanced Regional Archiving: Expanding modern digital preservation under the National Film Archives of India will safeguard non-scheduled linguistic heritage for future generations.

• The National Film Awards were established in 1954 as the State Awards for Films based on the 1949 Film Enquiry Committee recommendations.
• In March 2022, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting merged the Directorate of Film Festivals, Films Division, CFSI, and NFAI into the National Film Development Corporation.
• Prize endowments stand rationalised at ₹3,00,000 for Swarna Kamal and ₹2,00,000 for Rajat Kamal, while the Dadasaheb Phalke Award carries ₹15,00,000.
• Veteran actor Anant Nag was conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024 at the 72nd edition.
• The 72nd National Film Awards recognised Article 370 as Best Feature Film, with Best Actor awarded jointly to Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan.
• The awards advance cultural federalism by honouring constitutional Eighth Schedule languages alongside non-scheduled languages such as Garhwali and Tulu.