Cinema VinesThe 72nd National Film Awards were unveiled by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in New Delhi on Saturday evening, marking the culmination of a rigorous selection process carried out by a national panel of jurors. The ceremony celebrated films that received certification from the Central Board of Film Certification during 2024, drawing from a pool of 400 feature film entries and 161 non‑feature submissions.
Leading the accolades were actor Yami Gautam for her portrayal of a police officer in the film Article 370, which also took home the award for Best Film. Kartik Aaryan earned a top honour for his performance in Chandu Champion, while veteran actor Mammootty was recognised for his role in Bramayugam. The cinematic triumph of Article 370 extended beyond acting, securing the Best Direction award for Rajkumar Periasamy and Best Music Direction for Shaswat Sachdev.
The awards spanned a wide array of categories, including Best Tulu Film (IMBU), Best Garhwali Film (Dholi), Best Telugu Film (Committee Kurrollu), Best Tamil Film (Raayan), Best Manipuri Film (Sunita), Best Odia Film (Lahari), Best Marathi Film (Mukkham Post Bombilwadi), Best Malayalam Film (Feminichi Fathima), Best Kannada Film (Mithya), Best Hindi Film (Srikanth), Best Gujarati Film (Maaran), Best Bengali Film (Chalchithra Ekhon), Best Assamese Film (Juiphool), and Best Konkani Film (Mog Asum). Additional technical honours were awarded for Action Direction (Ani Arasu – Maharaja), Choreography (Vijay Ganguly – Stree 2), Lyrics (Manoj Muntashir – Jaane Do - Maidaan), Music Direction (GV Prakash Kumar – Amaran), Makeup (P Ravi Kumar – Committee Kurrolu), Costume Design (Deepali Noor, Sheetal Sharma – Pushpa 2), Production Design (Nitin Zihan Choudhary – Kalki 2898 AD), Editing (R Kalaivannan – Amaran), Sound Design (Manas Choudhury – Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3), Dialogues (Venky Atluri – Lucky Baskhar), Screenplay (Yogesh Deshpande – Swargandharva Sudhir Phadke, Bandireddi Sukumar – Pushpa 2), Cinematography (Shehnad Jalal – Bramayugam), and Playback Singing (Vaikom Vijayalakshmi – ARM - Angu Vaana Konilu, Abhay Jodhpurkar – Gharat Ganpati - Navsachi Gauri Mazi).
Special recognitions highlighted performances by Riddhiman Banerjee, Topomoy Deb, Gitashree Chakraborty (in Onko Ki Kothin), Arundev Pothula (in 35 – Chinna Katha Kaadu), and Athish S Shetty (in Mithya). Supporting actors Ropashree Varkady (Mithya), Sachana Namidass (Maharaja), and Sanjay Mishra (Bakshak) received accolades for their roles. The Best Children’s Film award went to 35 – Chinna Katha Kaadu, while the Best Film Promoting National, Social, Environmental Values honour was awarded to Captain Miller. The Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment title was claimed by Kalki 2898 AD, and the Best Debut Film award was given to Swatantrya Veer Savarkar.
In the non‑feature category, special mentions were conferred upon Chola Dora Aur Sui and Badra-Kali Natakam. The Best Script award was presented to Faraz Ali, while Soundarya Jayachandran received Best Voiceover for Little Frogs. Technical categories for non‑feature films included Best Music Direction (Shivpal Singh Kang – On the Trail of 41), Best Editing (Manvir Jasrotia), Best Sound Design (Hari Hara Sudhan – Blue), Best Cinematography (Edmond Ranson – Life in Loom), Best Direction (Aanand L Rai – Statue of Unity), Best Short Film (Hamsafar), Best Animation Film (Touched as Water), Best Social/Environmental Film (Piplantri), Best Documentary Film (Ram-Nami), Best Art/Culture Film (Main Nida), and Best Biographical/History Film (title not specified).
