National Film Awards: 72nd Edition Key Highlights
National Film Awards Celebrate Indian Cinema
The National Film Awards recognise excellence in Indian cinema across creative and technical fields. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting instituted the awards in 1954.
The 72nd National Film Awards cover films certified during 2024. The winners were announced on 18 July 2026. The President of India will present the awards on 22 September 2026 at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat.
Major Winners of the 72nd Edition
Article 370 won Best Feature Film, while Yami Gautam won Best Actress for the same film. Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan shared Best Actor honours for Bramayugam and Chandu Champion.
Rajkumar Periasamy won Best Direction for the Tamil film Amaran. Kalki 2898 AD won Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Randeep Hooda won Best Debut Film of a Director for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar.
The awards cover Feature Films, Non-Feature Films and Best Writing on Cinema. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award remains the highest honour in Indian cinema.
The 72nd edition recognised films from several Indian languages. Angen, a Santhali film, won Best Debut Film of a Director in the Non-Feature category. Dholi in Garhwali and IMBU in Tulu also received recognition.
Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2024
The Government announced Anant Nag as the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024 on 16 September 2026. The Government instituted the award in 1969 and first presented it to Devika Rani.
The NF Awards continue to recognise India’s diverse cinematic traditions while encouraging excellence across languages, regions and filmmaking disciplines.
