Table of Contents
Relevance: GS Paper I: Indian Culture, Art and Culture, Cinema, Regional Diversity
Important Keywords for Prelims and Mains
For Prelims:
- 72nd National Film Awards, Article 370, Best Feature Film, Bhangaar, Ram-Nami, Swarna Kamal, Rajat Kamal, Kalki 2898 AD, Pushpa: The Rule Part-02, Amaran, Committee Kurrollu, 35-Chinna Katha Kaadu, Schedule VIII Languages, Best Writing on Cinema
For Mains:
- Indian cinema, regional diversity, cultural integration, creative economy, soft power, linguistic diversity, film as cultural expression, non-feature films, documentary tradition, cinema studies
Why in News?
The winners of the 72nd National Film Awards for the year 2024 were announced by PIB Delhi on 18 July 2026. The awards recognised achievements across feature films, non-feature films and writings on cinema. Article 370 won the Best Feature Film, Bhangaar won the Best Non-Feature Film, and Ram-Nami won the Best Documentary.
About National Film Awards
- The National Film Awards were established in 1954 and are among the most prestigious film awards in India. The awards are presented by the President of India and aim to recognise excellence in Indian cinema.
- The first awards were given for the films of 1953. Initially, they were called State Awards and included two President’s Gold Medals, two certificates of merit, and silver medals for regional films. Over time, the number and scope of awards expanded.
- Separate awards for artists and technicians were instituted in 1968 for films of 1967. Nargis Dutt and Uttam Kumar were the first recipients of the Best Actress and Best Actor awards, then called Urvashi and Bharat awards respectively.
The awards are given in three broad sections:
- Feature Films
- Non-Feature Films
- Best Writing on Cinema
The awards aim to encourage films of aesthetic excellence, technical excellence, and social relevance, while promoting unity, integrity and appreciation of India’s cultural diversity.
Key Highlights of the 72nd National Film Awards
The 72nd National Film Awards recognised cinema across languages, genres and formats.
Major highlights include:
- Best Feature Film: Article 370
- Best Non-Feature Film: Bhangaar
- Best Documentary: Ram-Nami
- Best Actress in Leading Role: Yami Gautam for Article 370
- Best Actor in Leading Role: Mammootty for Bramayugam and Kartik Aaryan for Chandu Champion
- Best Debut Director: Randeep Hooda for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar
- Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Kalki 2898 AD
- Major recognitions also went to Pushpa: The Rule Part-02, Stree 2, Amaran, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, Committee Kurrollu and 35-Chinna Katha Kaadu.
The awards were announced by Shri Jayaraj, Chairperson of the Feature Film Jury; Shri Aseem Sinha, Chairperson of the Non-Feature Film Jury; and Shri A. Chandrasekhar, Chairperson of the Best Writing on Cinema Jury.
Feature Film Awards List
| No. | Category | Film / Language | Awardee |
| 1 | Best Feature Film | Article 370 / Hindi | Producer: Jio Studios & B62 Studios; Director: Aditya Suhas Jambhale |
| 2 | Best Debut Film of a Director | Swatantrya Veer Savarkar / Hindi | Director: Randeep Hooda |
| 3 | Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Kalki 2898 AD / Telugu | Producer: Vyjayanthi Movies; Director: Nag Ashwin Singireddy |
| 4 | Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values | Captain Miller / Tamil | Producer: Sathya Jyothi Films; Director: Arun Matheswaran |
| 5 | Best Children’s Film | 35-Chinna Katha Kaadu / Telugu | Producer: S Originals & Waltair Productions Pvt. Ltd.; Director: Nanda Kishore Emani |
| 6 | Best Direction | Amaran / Tamil | Director: Rajkumar Periasamy |
| 7 | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Bramayugam / Malayalam; Chandu Champion / Hindi | Mammootty; Kartik Aaryan |
| 8 | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Article 370 / Hindi | Yami Gautam |
| 9 | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Bhakshak / Hindi | Sanjay Mishra |
| 10 | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Maharaja / Tamil; Mithya / Kannada | Sachana Namidass; Ropashree Varkady |
| 11 | Best Child Artist | Mithya / Kannada; 35-Chinna Katha Kaadu / Telugu; Onko Ki Kothin / Bengali | Athish S. Shetty; Arundev Pothula; Riddhiman Banerjee, Tapomoy Deb, Gitashree Chakraborty |
| 12 | Best Male Playback Singer | Gharat Ganpati / Marathi | Abhay Jodhpurkar for “Navasachi Gauri Mazi” |
| 13 | Best Female Playback Singer | A. R. M / Malayalam | Vaikom Vijayalakshmi for “Angu Vaana Konilu” |
| 14 | Best Cinematography | Bramayugam / Malayalam | Shehnad Jalal |
| 15 | Best Screenplay |
| Original: Bandreddi Sukumar;
Adapted: Yogesh Deshpande; Dialogue: Venky Atluri |
| 16 | Best Sound Design | Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 / Hindi | Manas Choudhury |
| 17 | Best Editing | Amaran / Tamil | R. Kalaivannan |
| 18 | Best Production Design | Kalki 2898 AD / Telugu | Nitin Zihani Choudhary |
| 19 | Best Costume Design | Pushpa: The Rule Part-02 / Telugu | Deepali Noor & Sheetal Sharma |
| 20 | Best Make-up | Committee Kurrollu / Telugu | P. Ravi Kumar |
| 21 | Best Music Direction | Article 370 / Hindi; Amaran / Tamil | Songs: Shashwat Sachdev; Background Music: G. V. Prakash Kumar |
| 22 | Best Lyrics | Maidaan / Hindi | Manoj Muntashir for “Jaane Do” |
| 23 | Best Choreography | Stree 2 / Hindi | Vijay Ganguly for “Aaj Ki Raat” |
| 24 | Best Action Direction | Maharaja / Tamil | Stunt Choreographer: Anl Arasu |
Best Feature Films in Schedule VIII Languages
| Language Category | Film | Producer / Director |
| Best Assamese Film | Juiphool | Producer & Director: Jadumoni Dutta |
| Best Bengali Film | Chalchitra Ekhon | Producer: Anjan Dutt Production; Director: Anjan Dutt |
| Best Gujarati Film | Maaran | Producer: Cineman Productions Limited; Director: Abhishek Jain |
| Best Hindi Film | Srikanth | Producer: Super Cassettes Industries Pvt. Ltd. & Chalk N Cheese Films Production LLP; Director: Tushar Hiranandani |
| Best Kannada Film | Mithya | Producer: Paramvah Pictures & KRG Studios; Director: Sumanth Bhat |
| Best Konkani Film | Mog Asum | Producer: Flowing Mandovi Films LLP, R S Creations, Kathputlee Arts and Films Pvt. Ltd.; Directors: Radheshyam Pipalwa & Agnelo Angelo Braganza |
| Best Malayalam Film | Feminichi Fathima | Producer: 1001 Stories & AFD Cinemas; Director: Fasil Muhammed |
| Best Manipuri Film | Sunita | Producer: Skyline Pictures, Khuman Leipak Pictures, H. M. Production & Cultural Society Khuman Maheikol Production; Director: Yumnam Ajit Singh |
| Best Marathi Film | Mukkam Post Bombilwadi | Producer: Vivek Films & Mayasabha Karamanuk Mandali LLP; Director: Paresh Mokashi |
| Best Odia Film | Lahari | Producer: Jhilik Motion Pictures; Director: Amartya Bhattacharyya |
| Best Tamil Film | Raayan | Producer: Sun TV Network Limited; Director: Dhanush |
| Best Telugu Film | Committee Kurrollu | Producer: Pink Elephant Pictures & Shree Radha Damodara Studios; Director: Yadhu Vamsee |
Best Feature Films in Non-Schedule VIII Languages
| Language Category | Film | Producer / Director |
| Best Garhwali Film | Dholi | Producer: SC Pharmachem Pvt. Ltd.; Director: Dinesh P. Bhonsle |
| Best Tulu Film | IMBU | Producer: Pichchar Studio; Director: Shivadhwaj Shetty |
Special Mention – Feature Films
| Film | Recognition |
| Captain Miller | Actor: Dhanush |
| Meiyazhagan / Tamil | Film Sound Mix Engineer: Suren G. |
Telugu Cinema at the 72nd National Film Awards
Telugu cinema received recognition across popular, children’s, technical and language categories.
| Category | Telugu Winner |
| Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Kalki 2898 AD |
| Best Children’s Film | 35-Chinna Katha Kaadu |
| Best Child Artist | Arundev Pothula — 35-Chinna Katha Kaadu |
| Best Original Screenplay | Bandreddi Sukumar — Pushpa: The Rule Part-02 |
| Best Dialogue Writer | Venky Atluri — Lucky Baskhar |
| Best Production Design | Nitin Zihani Choudhary — Kalki 2898 AD |
| Best Costume Design | Deepali Noor & Sheetal Sharma — Pushpa: The Rule Part-02 |
| Best Make-up | P. Ravi Kumar — Committee Kurrollu |
| Best Telugu Film | Committee Kurrollu |
Non-Feature Film Awards
| No. | Category | Film / Language | Awardee |
| 1 | Best Non-Feature Film | Bhangaar / Marathi & English | Producer & Director: Sumira Roy |
| 2 | Best Debut Film of a Director | Angen / Santhali | Director: Ravi Raj Murmu |
| 3 | Best Biographical / Historical Reconstruction / Compilation Film | Kakori / Hindi | Producer: KSR Brothers & Minti Mishra; Director: Kamlesh K. Mishra |
| 4 | Best Arts / Culture Film | Main Nida / Hindi | Producer: Sampreshan Multimedia Pvt. Ltd.; Director: Atul Pandey |
| 5 | Best Documentary | Ram-Nami / Hindi | Producer: BBP Studio Virtual Bharat Pvt. Ltd.; Director: Bharatbala Ganapathy |
| 6 | Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values | Piplantri: A Tale of Eco Feminism / Hindi, Rajasthani & English | Producer: Johnsons Suraj Films International; Director: Suraj Kumar |
| 7 | Best Animation Film | Touched as Water / Silent | Producer: JB Productions; Director & Animator: Joshy Benedict |
| 8 | Best Short Film up to 30 minutes | Hamsafar / Marathi | Producer: Anushka Motion Pictures and Entertainments; Director: Abhijeet Arvind Dalvi |
| 9 | Best Direction | Statue of Unity – Ekta ka Prateek / Hindi | Director: Aanand L. Rai |
| 10 | Best Cinematography | Life in Loom / English, Tamil, Hindi, Assamese & Bengali | Cinematographer: Edmond Ranson |
| 11 | Best Sound Design | Blue / Tamil | T. S. Hari Hara Sudhan |
| 12 | Best Editing | NDA / Hindi | Editor: Manvir Jasrotia |
| 13 | Best Music Direction | Parat 41°chya Magavar / On the Trail of 41° / Marathi | Shivpal Singh Kang |
| 14 | Best Narration / Voice Over | Little Planet: A Tale of Frogs / English | Narrator: Soundarya Jayachandran |
| 15 | Best Script | Obur / Hindi & Kashmiri | Script Writer: Faraz Ali |
| 16 | Special Mention | Bhadra-Kali Natakam / Malayalam; Chola Dora aur Sui / Hindi | Directors: Ananda Jyothi / Jose Antony; Jaymin Modi & Lokesh Ghai |
Best Writing on Cinema Awards
| Category | Winner |
| Best Book on Cinema | Naaniruvude Nimagaagi Naadiruvude Nanagaagi: Kannada Cinemada Thathva matthu Rajakeeya |
| Language | Kannada |
| Author | Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty |
| Publisher | Mirror Pusthaka |
| Medal & Cash Prize | Swarna Kamal and ₹1,00,000 each |
| Category | Winner |
| Best Film Critic | Sanjeev Shrivastava |
| Language | Hindi |
| Medal & Cash Prize | Swarna Kamal and ₹1,00,000 |
CARE MCQ
Q. Consider the following pairs regarding the 72nd National Film Awards, 2024:
| Award Category | Winner |
| 1. Best Feature Film | Article 370 |
| 2. Best Non-Feature Film | Bhangaar |
| 3. Best Documentary | Ram-Nami |
| 4. Best Telugu Film | Kalki 2898 AD |
Which of the above pairs are correctly matched?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 4 only
(c) 2, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Correct Answer: (a) 1, 2 and 3 only
Explanation
Pair 1 is correct: Article 370 won the Best Feature Film award.
Pair 2 is correct: Bhangaar won the Best Non-Feature Film award.
Pair 3 is correct: Ram-Nami won the Best Documentary award.
Pair 4 is incorrect: Committee Kurrollu won Best Telugu Film, while Kalki 2898 AD won Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
FAQs
Q. Which film won Best Feature Film at the 72nd National Film Awards?
Article 370.
Q. Who won Best Actress in a Leading Role?
Yami Gautam for Article 370.
Q. Who won Best Actor in a Leading Role?
Mammootty for Bramayugam and Kartik Aaryan for Chandu Champion.
Q. Which film won Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment?
Kalki 2898 AD.
Q. Which film won Best Telugu Film?
Committee Kurrollu.
Q. Which film won Best Non-Feature Film?
Bhangaar.
Q. Which film won Best Documentary?
Ram-Nami.
Q. Who won Best Debut Director?
Randeep Hooda for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar.
