President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday conferred the 72nd National Film Awards at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat, honouring outstanding contributions to Indian cinema for the year 2024. The ceremony was held against the backdrop of the iconic Statue of Unity and marked the first time the National Film Awards ceremony was hosted outside Delhi.
Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag was presented with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024, recognising his contribution to Indian cinema over a career spanning more than five decades. The honour is regarded as the country's highest recognition for an individual contribution to Indian cinema.
In the acting categories, Yami Gautam received the Best Actress in a Leading Role award for her performance in Article 370. Mammootty was honoured as Best Actor in a Leading Role for Bramayugam, sharing the award with Kartik Aaryan, who was recognised for his performance in Chandu Champion.
Aditya Suhas Jambhale's Hindi film ** Article 370 ** was named Best Feature Film. The film also earned Yami Gautam the Best Actress honour and received the award for Best Background Music, making it one of the major winners of this year's awards.
Among other major honours, Rajkumar Periasamy won Best Director for Amaran, while Randeep Hooda received the Best Debut Director award for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar. Kalki 2898 AD, Pushpa: The Rule Part-02, Stree 2 and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 were also among the films to receive major recognition.
The 72nd National Film Awards recognise achievements across feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema. The winners were announced on July 18, 2026, with the awards ceremony held on September 22.
