The 72nd National Film Awards winners were announced on 18 July 2026 for films from the 2024 award year. President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards on 22 September 2026 at Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, Gujarat.
Article 370 won Best Feature Film, Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan shared Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Yami Gautam won Best Actress in a Leading Role. Veteran actor Anant Nag received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024.
This guide brings the major winners, regional film awards, non-feature film awards and writing-on-cinema honours together in one place. The winners below are based on the official list published by the Press Information Bureau. The President’s Secretariat confirmed the ceremony details and Anant Nag’s honour.
72nd National Film Awards 2026: Winners at a glance
| Award | Winner | Film |
|---|---|---|
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024 | Anant Nag | Lifetime contribution to Indian cinema |
| Best Feature Film | Article 370 | Hindi |
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan | Bramayugam and Chandu Champion |
| Best Actress in a Leading Role | Yami Gautam | Article 370 |
| Best Direction | Rajkumar Periasamy | Amaran |
| Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Kalki 2898 AD | Telugu |
| Best Debut Film of a Director | Randeep Hooda | Swatantrya Veer Savarkar |
| Best Non-Feature Film | Bhangaar | Marathi and English |
| Best Documentary | Ram-Nami | Hindi |
Major feature film winners
Article 370 received the Best Feature Film award and also brought Yami Gautam the Best Actress in a Leading Role award. Its director is Aditya Suhas Jambhale. Mammootty won for the Malayalam film Bramayugam, while Kartik Aaryan won for the Hindi film Chandu Champion; the Best Actor in a Leading Role award was shared.
| Category | Winner and film |
|---|---|
| Best Feature Film | Article 370 — director Aditya Suhas Jambhale |
| Best Debut Film of a Director | Randeep Hooda — Swatantrya Veer Savarkar |
| Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Kalki 2898 AD — director Nag Ashwin Singireddy |
| Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values | Captain Miller — director Arun Matheswaran |
| Best Children’s Film | 35-Chinna Katha Kaadu — director Nanda Kishore Emani |
| Best Direction | Rajkumar Periasamy — Amaran |
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Mammootty — Bramayugam; Kartik Aaryan — Chandu Champion |
| Best Actress in a Leading Role | Yami Gautam — Article 370 |
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Sanjay Mishra — Bhakshak |
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Sachana Namidass — Maharaja; Ropashree Varkady — Mithya |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Abhay Jodhpurkar — “Navasachi Gauri Mazi” from Gharat Ganpati |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Vaikom Vijayalakshmi — “Angu Vaana Konilu” from A. R. M |
The Best Child Artist award recognised Athish S Shetty (Mithya), Arundev Pothula (35-Chinna Katha Kaadu), and Riddhiman Banerjee, Tapomoy Deb and Gitashree Chakraborty (Onko Ki Kothin). The feature film Special Mentions went to actor Dhanush for Captain Miller and sound mix engineer Suren G. for Meiyazhagan.
Technical, music and writing winners in feature films
| Category | Winner | Film |
|---|---|---|
| Best Cinematography | Shehnad Jalal | Bramayugam |
| Best Original Screenplay | Bandreddi Sukumar | Pushpa (The Rule Part-02) |
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Yogesh Deshpande | Swargandharva Sudhir Phadke |
| Best Screenplay: Dialogues | Venky Atluri | Lucky Baskhar |
| Best Sound Design | Manas Choudhury | Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 |
| Best Editing | R. Kalaivannan | Amaran |
| Best Production Design | Nitin Zihani Choudhary | Kalki 2898 AD |
| Best Costume Design | Deepali Noor and Sheetal Sharma | Pushpa (The Rule Part-02) |
| Best Make-up | P Ravi Kumar | Committee Kurrollu |
| Best Music Direction: Songs | Shashwat Sachdev | Article 370 |
| Best Music Direction: Background Music | G. V. Prakash Kumar | Amaran |
| Best Lyrics | Manoj Muntashir, for “Jaane Do” | Maidaan |
| Best Choreography | Vijay Ganguly, for “Aaj Ki Raat” | Stree 2 |
| Best Action Direction | Anl Arasu | Maharaja |
These categories help explain why several films appear more than once in the winners list. For example, Amaran won for direction, editing and background music, while Article 370 won Best Feature Film, Best Actress and music direction for songs.
Best regional films at the 72nd National Film Awards
The language awards recognise films across Indian cinema. In these categories, Best Hindi Film is a separate award from the overall Best Feature Film: Srikanth won Best Hindi Film, while Article 370 won Best Feature Film.
| Language category | Winning film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Assamese | Juiphool | Jadumoni Dutta |
| Bengali | Chalchitra Ekhon | Anjan Dutt |
| Gujarati | Maaran | Abhishek Jain |
| Hindi | Srikanth | Tushar Hiranandani |
| Kannada | Mithya | Sumanth Bhat |
| Konkani | Mog Asum | Radheshyam Pipalwa and Agnelo Angelo Braganza |
| Malayalam | Feminichi Fathima | Fasil Muhammed |
| Manipuri | Sunita | Yumnam Ajit Singh |
| Marathi | Mukkam Post Bombilwadi | Paresh Mokashi |
| Odia | Lahari | Amartya Bhattacharyya |
| Tamil | Raayan | Dhanush |
| Telugu | Committee Kurrollu | Yadhu Vamsee |
| Garhwali | Dholi | Dinesh P. Bhonsle |
| Tulu | IMBU | Shivadhwaj Shetty |
The Garhwali and Tulu awards appear in the official list under the separate heading for languages other than those specified in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Non-feature film winners
Bhangaar, directed and produced by Sumira Roy, won Best Non-Feature Film. Ram-Nami, directed by Bharatbala Ganapathy, won Best Documentary. They are two different awards, a distinction worth checking when revising a quick-reference winners list.
| Category | Winner | Awardee |
|---|---|---|
| Best Non-Feature Film | Bhangaar | Sumira Roy |
| Best Debut Film of a Director | Angen | Ravi Raj Murmu |
| Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction/Compilation Film | Kakori | Director Kamlesh K Mishra |
| Best Arts/Culture Film | Main Nida | Director Atul Pandey |
| Best Documentary | Ram-Nami | Director Bharatbala Ganapathy |
| Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values | Piplantri: A Tale of Eco Feminism | Director Suraj Kumar |
| Best Animation Film | Touched as Water | Director and animator Joshy Benedict |
| Best Short Film, up to 30 minutes | Hamsafar | Director Abhijeet Arvind Dalvi |
| Best Direction | Statue of Unity – Ekta ka Prateek | Aanand L Rai |
| Best Cinematography | Life in Loom | Edmond Ranson |
| Best Sound Design | Blue | T S Hari Hara Sudhan |
| Best Editing | NDA | Manvir Jasrotia |
| Best Music Direction | Parat 41°chya Magavar (On the Trail of 41°) | Shivpal Singh Kang |
| Best Narration/Voice Over | Little Planet: A Tale of Frogs | Soundarya Jayachandran |
| Best Script | Obur | Faraz Ali |
The non-feature Special Mentions recognised director Ananda Jyothi (Jose Antony) for Bhadra-Kali Natakam and directors Jaymin Modi and Lokesh Ghai for Chola Dora aur Sui.
Best Writing on Cinema
The Best Book on Cinema award went to Kannada author Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty for Naaniruvude Nimagaagi Naadiruvude Nanagaagi: Kannada Cinemada Thathva matthu Rajakeeya. Sanjeev Shrivastava won Best Film Critic for his work in Hindi.
Anant Nag receives the Dadasaheb Phalke Award
At the 22 September ceremony, President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024 on Anant Nag for his contribution to Indian cinema. The ceremony was held at Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, Gujarat.
In her address, the President also urged popular film artists to avoid endorsing products harmful to health. It was a message about the influence celebrities have on young audiences, alongside the presentation of the cinema honours.
Frequently asked questions
Who won Best Actor at the 72nd National Film Awards?
Mammootty won for Bramayugam and Kartik Aaryan won for Chandu Champion. They shared the Best Actor in a Leading Role award.
Who won Best Actress at the 72nd National Film Awards?
Yami Gautam won Best Actress in a Leading Role for Article 370.
Which film won Best Feature Film?
Article 370, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, won Best Feature Film.
Who received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award at the 2026 ceremony?
Anant Nag received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024 at the ceremony held in September 2026.
Were these awards for 2026 films?
No. The 72nd National Film Awards recognised films from the 2024 award year. The winners were announced in July 2026, and the awards were presented in September 2026.
Which films won Best Non-Feature Film and Best Documentary?
Bhangaar won Best Non-Feature Film. Ram-Nami won Best Documentary.
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