72nd National Film Awards

Overview

• Announced on 18 July 2026 by the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC).
• Honours the best of Indian cinema in 2024.
• Entries received:

• Feature films: 400
• Non-feature films: 161
• Books: 38
• Critics’ submissions: 24

• Key winners:

• Best Feature Film: Article 370 (political action-thriller)
• Best Popular Feature Film: Kalki 2898 AD (dystopian science fiction)

Selection Process

• Online entries invited by NFDC.
• Eligible films: Certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024.
• Ineligible: Dubbed, revised, copied versions; translations, abridgements, edited/annotated works, reprints.
• Eligible formats: Any Indian language; shot on 16 mm, 35 mm, wider gauge, or digital; released in cinemas, on video, or digital for home viewing.

Feature Films Jury Structure

• Two-tier process: Central committee + five regional committees.
• Central Jury (headed by director Jayaraj):

• Includes heads of regional committees + five other members.
• Members: V. N. Aditya, Archana Udupa, Aseem Bajaj, Kala Master, Meera Chopra, Napoleon RZ Thanga, Om Raut, Priya Krishnaswamy, Rakesh Ranjan, Sreelekha Mukherji.

• Regional Committees (each with 1 head + 3–4 members; head and one member from outside the region):

• Northern (Bhojpuri, Dogri, English, Hindi, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Urdu) — Head: Akshay Parija
• Eastern (Assamese, Bengali, Odia & North-Eastern languages) — Head: B S Basavaraj
• Western (Gujarati, Konkani, Marathi) — Head: Supratim Bhol
• Southern Region I (Malayalam, Tamil) — Head: Manju Borah
• Southern Region II (Kannada, Telugu) — Head: Gopi Desai

Major Awards (Golden Lotus / Swarna Kamal)

Award

Film

Language

Awardee(s)

Prize

Best Feature Film

Article 370

Hindi

Producers: Jio Studios & B62 Studios; Director: Aditya Suhas Jambhale

₹3,00,000 each

Best Debut Film of a Director

Swatantrya Veer Savarkar

Hindi

Randeep Hooda

₹3,00,000

Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment

Kalki 2898 AD

Telugu

Producers: Vyjayanthi Movies; Director: Nag Ashwin

₹3,00,000 each

Best Children’s Film

35 Chinna Katha Kaadu

Telugu

Producers: S Originals & Waltair Productions; Director: Nanda Kishore Emani

₹3,00,000 each

Best Direction

Amaran

Tamil

Rajkumar Periasamy

₹3,00,000

Silver Lotus Awards (Rajat Kamal) – Selected Highlights

Category

Film / Song

Language

Winner(s)

Prize

Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social & Environmental Values

Captain Miller

Tamil

Producers: Sathya Jyothi Films; Director: Arun Matheswaran

₹2,00,000 each

Best Actor (Leading Role)

Bramayugam / Chandu Champion

Malayalam / Hindi

Mammootty & Kartik Aaryan (shared)

₹2,00,000 shared

Best Actress (Leading Role)

Article 370

Hindi

Yami Gautam

₹2,00,000

Best Supporting Actor

Bhakshak

Hindi

Sanjay Mishra

₹2,00,000

Best Supporting Actress

Maharaja / Mithya

Tamil / Kannada

Sachana Namidass & Roopashree Varkady (shared)

₹2,00,000 shared

Best Child Artist

Multiple films

Various

Athish S Shetty, Arundev Pothula, Riddhiman Banerjee, Tapomoy Deb, Gitashree Chakraborty (shared)

₹2,00,000 shared

Best Male Playback Singer

Gharat Ganpati (“Navasachi Gauri Mazi”)

Marathi

Abhay Jodhpurkar

₹2,00,000

Best Female Playback Singer

ARM (“Angu Vaana Konilu”)

Malayalam

Vaikom Vijayalakshmi

₹2,00,000

Best Cinematography

Bramayugam

Malayalam

Shehnad Jalal

₹2,00,000

Best Original Screenplay

Pushpa 2: The Rule

Telugu

Sukumar

₹2,00,000

Best Adapted Screenplay

Swargandharva Sudhir Phadke

Marathi

Yogesh Deshpande

₹2,00,000

Best Dialogues

Lucky Baskhar

Telugu

Venky Atluri

₹2,00,000

Best Sound Design

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3

Hindi

Manas Choudhury

₹2,00,000

Best Editing

Amaran

Tamil

R. Kalaivannan

₹2,00,000

Best Production Design

Kalki 2898 AD

Telugu

Nitin Zihani Choudhary

₹2,00,000

Best Costume Design

Pushpa 2: The Rule

Telugu

Deepali Noor & Sheetal Sharma (shared)

₹2,00,000 shared

Best Make-up

Committee Kurrollu

Telugu

P Ravi Kumar

₹2,00,000

Best Music Direction (Songs)

Article 370

Hindi

Shashwat Sachdev

₹2,00,000

Best Music Direction (Background Score)

Amaran

Tamil

G. V. Prakash Kumar

₹2,00,000

Best Lyrics

Maidaan (“Jaane Do”)

Hindi

Manoj Muntashir

₹2,00,000

Best Choreography

Stree 2 (“Aaj Ki Raat”)

Hindi

Vijay Ganguly

₹2,00,000

Best Stunt Choreography

Maharaja

Tamil

Anal Arasu

₹2,00,000

Key Observations

• Strong presence of Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam films among major winners.
• Article 370 dominated with Best Feature Film, Best Actress, and Best Music Direction (Songs).
• Kalki 2898 AD and Amaran also performed well across technical and popular categories.
• Shared awards were common in acting and child artist categories.