The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting officially announced the winners of the 72nd National Film Awards on Saturday evening at the National Media Centre in New Delhi, concluding a two-week delay caused by extended jury deliberations.
Streamed live across the Press Information Bureau's official digital channels, the highly anticipated ceremony honored outstanding artistic and technical contributions to Indian cinema for films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification between January 1 and December 31, 2024.
An 11-member jury chaired by acclaimed Malayalam filmmaker Jayaraj evaluated 161 films spanning 24 languages across feature, non-feature, and film literature categories.
The high-profile political thriller Article 370 emerged as the biggest winner of the night, securing the coveted Best Feature Film honor.
The Best Actor trophy was jointly shared by Kartik Aaryan for his dedicated physical transformation in the biographical sports drama Chandu Champion and veteran superstar Mammootty for his spine-chilling performance in the psychological period horror drama Bramayugam.
The marquee acting titles witnessed major celebratory moments as Yami Gautam bagged the Best Actress award for her powerhouse leading performance in Article 370.
Meanwhile, director Rajkumar Periasamy took home the prestigious Best Direction award for helming the deeply emotional biographical action drama Amaran. Notably, Srikanth won Best Hindi Feature Film award.
The feature film segment also witnessed a powerful sweep by regional cinema, highlighted by major triumphs across the southern film industries.
The gritty North Chennai-based neo-noir revenge drama Raayan, written and directed by Dhanush, was named the Best Tamil Film.
The satirical drama Feminichi Fathima, which examines complex social and patriarchal barriers encountered by women, secured the title of Best Malayalam Film, while the coming-of-age trauma narrative Mithya, directed by debutant Sumanth Bhat and produced by Rakshit Shetty, walked away with the Best Kannada Film honor.
Multi-time National Award winner Dhanush further solidified his critical standing by earning a special mention for his titular performance in the historical action epic Captain Miller.
Additionally, the widely acclaimed Tamil slice-of-life drama Meiyazhagan captured a special mention for its exceptional sound mixing.
The technical and music categories across the board highlighted spectacular achievements from the 2024 cinematic calendar.
Renowned music composer GV Prakash Kumar clinched the Best Music Direction honor for his deeply emotional score in Amaran, while R. Kalaivannan took home the Best Editing trophy for the same film.
The box-office juggernaut Pushpa 2: The Rule had a stellar showing, winning the coveted Best Screenplay award for filmmaker Sukumar alongside a Best Costume Design win for designers Deepali Noor and Sheetal Sharma.
For technical excellence in sound design, Manas Choudhury won for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, while Kalki 2898 AD captured the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment along with a Best Production Design trophy.
In cinematography, Shehnad Jalal took the top prize in the feature category for Bramayugam.
In the non-feature and writing categories, the jury celebrated diverse storytelling formats and academic contributions to cinema.
Noted Bollywood director Aanand L. Rai won the Best Direction award in the non-feature category for Statue of Unity: Ekta Ka Prateek.
T.S. Hari Hara Sudhan claimed the Best Sound Design award for the Tamil non-feature film Blue, while Manvir Jasrotia received the Best Editing award for the Hindi film NDA.
The biographical short Piplantri: A Tale of Eco Feminism, directed by Suraj Kumar, was awarded Best Non-Feature Film promoting Social and Environmental Values.
For film literature, the Best Book on Cinema was awarded to Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty for his philosophical and political study of Kannada cinema, and Sanjeev Shrivastava was recognized as the country's top film critic for his contribution.