72nd National Film Awards: Article 370 tops honours; Amaran, Pushpa 2 shine

The politically charged Article 370, inspired by the events surrounding the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir's special status in 2019, emerged as the biggest winner at the 72nd National Film Awards, bagging the Best Feature Film award and fetching Yami Gautam Dhar the Best Actress honour.

The awards, announced in New Delhi on Saturday (July 18), recognised films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) during the 2024 calendar year. The winners were selected by a jury headed by acclaimed Malayalam filmmaker Jayaraj, with entries spanning 24 Indian languages.

Best awards

Yami Gautam Dhar was named Best Actress for her performance in Article 370, while Kartik Aaryan and Mammootty shared the Best Actor award for their performances in the Hindi sports drama Chandu Champion and the Malayalam horror-thriller Bramayugam, respectively.

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Tamil filmmaker Rajkumar Periasamy won the Best Director award for Amaran, the biographical war drama based on the life of Ashok Chakra awardee Major Mukund Varadarajan. The film also earned G.V. Prakash Kumar the Best Music Director award for its soundtrack and background score, making Amaran one of the major winners of this year's ceremony.

The Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment award went to Telugu sci-fi epic Kalki 2898 AD, one of the biggest commercial successes of 2024. Directed by Nag Ashwin, the film starred Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone and Kamal Haasan, and was widely praised for its scale and visual effects.

Other awards

Another big winner was Pushpa 2: The Rule, directed by Sukumar and starring Allu Arjun. The blockbuster picked up two National Awards, with Deepali Noor and Sheetal Sharma winning Best Costume Design, while Sukumar received the Best Screenplay award.

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The awards also recognised excellence in technical categories. Vijay Ganguly won Best Choreography for the chartbuster ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ from Stree 2. Featuring Tamannaah Bhatia, the dance number became one of the year's biggest musical hits.

Action choreographer Anl Arasu won the Best Stunt Choreography award for Vijay Sethupathi's milestone 50th film, Maharaja, directed by Nithilan Saminathan.

Regional recognition

Tamil slice-of-life drama Meiyazhagan, directed by C. Prem Kumar and starring Karthi and Arvind Swamy, received a Special Mention for its sound mixing, adding another accolade to the critically acclaimed film.

Among the language-specific honours, Srikanth, based on the life of visually impaired industrialist Srikanth Bolla, was adjudged the Best Hindi Film. Dhanush's Raayan won Best Tamil Film, while Committee Kurrollu was named the Best Telugu Film.

In other regional categories, Feminichi Fathima won Best Malayalam Film, Mithya was adjudged Best Kannada Film, Mukkam Post Bombilwadi won Best Marathi Film, and Chalchitra Ekhon was named Best Bengali Film.

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Actor-director Randeep Hooda received the Best Debut Film of a Director award for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, his directorial debut based on the life of freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

Film literature

Beyond cinema, the awards also honoured film literature. Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty won the Best Book on Cinema award for Naaniruvude Nimagaagi Naadiruvude Nanagaagi: Kannada Cinemada Thathva Matthu Rajakeeya, published by Mirror Pusthaka.

The National Film Awards, regarded as India's highest official recognition for cinematic excellence, are presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Unlike popular film awards, the National Awards are decided by an independent jury and recognise artistic, technical and cinematic excellence across Indian cinema.

The 72nd edition celebrated the diversity of Indian filmmaking, honouring films across genres, from political dramas and biographical stories to action thrillers, commercial entertainers and regional cinema, underscoring the growing breadth and richness of the country's film industry.