EntertainmentPosted at: Sep 22 2026 9:32PM


Cinema has strengthened India’s cultural unity, says President Murmu at 72nd National Film Awards

Parwinder Sandhu
Kevadia, Sep 22 (UNI) President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday highlighted the role of cinema in strengthening India’s cultural unity, saying films transcend linguistic, regional and cultural boundaries and allow audiences to experience the diverse stories, traditions and human experiences that make up the country.
Addressing the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat, where she presented the awards for outstanding achievements in Indian cinema for 2024, the President congratulated the winners and the entire film fraternity for their contribution to the country’s cinematic heritage.
The ceremony saw 'Article 370' receive the Best Feature Film award, while Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan shared the Best Actor in a Leading Role honour for 'Bramayugam' and 'Chandu Champion', respectively.
Yami Gautam was named Best Actress for 'Article 370', while Rajkumar Periasamy won Best Director for 'Amaran'. 'Kalki 2898 AD' was adjudged Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
Reflecting on the role of performers, President Murmu said actors bring characters to life on screen and help audiences connect with different facets of human experience.
“In films, actors perform the roles of the characters,” the President said, underlining the contribution of performers in translating cinematic stories into experiences for audiences.
She said the country's varied cultural expressions had played an important role in bringing people together. “India's cultural unity has been established,” President Murmu said, referring to the way India's diverse cultural traditions find expression through cinema.
The President also described the National Film Awards as an occasion to take a comprehensive view of the country's cinematic output and recognise the creative efforts of filmmakers, actors, technicians and other professionals involved in the making of films.
President Murmu also referred to cinema dealing with subjects of national significance, including 'Article 370', which emerged as one of the major award winners this year.
The awards recognised films from a wide range of languages and genres.
'Bhangaar' won Best Non-Feature Film, while 'Ram-Nami' was adjudged Best Documentary. 'Pushpa: The Rule Part-02', 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3', 'Stree 2' and 'Amaran' also received honours in various categories.
The 72nd National Film Awards also marked a departure from the traditional venue in the national capital, with the ceremony being held at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat.
The shift is part of the government's effort to take the National Film Awards to different parts of the country and bring the celebration of Indian cinema closer to people across regions.
The awards, instituted in 1954, recognise excellence in feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema, while reflecting the linguistic, cultural and creative diversity of the Indian film industry.
Here is the complete winner’s list
FEATURE FILMS
• Best Feature Film: Jio Studios & B62 Studios — Article 370
• Best Debut Film of a Director: Randeep Hooda — Swatantrya Veer Savarkar
• Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Vyjayanthi Movies/Nag Ashwin — Kalki 2898 AD
• Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values: Sathya Jyothi Films/Arun Matheswaran — Captain Miller
• Best Children's Film: S Originals & Waltair Productions/Nanda Kishore Emani — 35-Chinna Katha Kaadu
• Best Direction: Rajkumar Periasamy — Amaran
• Best Actor in a Leading Role: Mammootty — Bramayugam
• Best Actor in a Leading Role: 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
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Ropashree Varkady — Mithya
• Best Child Artist: Athish S Shetty — Mithya
• Best Child Artist: Arundev Pothula — 35-Chinna Katha Kaadu
• Best Child Artists: Riddhiman Banerjee, Tapomoy Deb & Gitashree Chakraborty — Onko Ki Kothin
• Best Male Playback Singer: Abhay Jodhpurkar — Gharat Ganpati
• Best Female Playback Singer: Vaikom Vijayalakshmi — A.R.M.
• Best Cinematography: Shehnad Jalal — Bramayugam
• Best Screenplay (Original): Bandreddi Sukumar — Pushpa: The Rule Part-02
• Best Screenplay (Adapted): Yogesh Deshpande — Swargandharva Sudhir Phadke • Best Dialogue: 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 & 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 — Maidaan
• Best Choreography: Vijay Ganguly — Stree 2
• Best Action Direction: Anl Arasu — Maharaja
BEST FILM — LANGUAGE CATEGORIES
• Best Assamese Film: Juiphool
• Best Bengali Film: Chalchitra Ekhon
• Best Gujarati Film: Maaran
• Best Hindi Film: Srikanth
• Best Kannada Film: Mithya
• Best Konkani Film: Mog Asum
• Best Malayalam Film: Feminichi Fathima
• Best Manipuri Film: Sunita
• Best Marathi Film: Mukkam Post Bombilwadi
• Best Odia Film: Lahari
• Best Tamil Film: Raayan
• Best Telugu Film: Committee Kurrollu
• Best Garhwali Film: Dholi
• Best Tulu Film: IMBU
SPECIAL MENTIONS — FEATURE FILMS
• Special Mention: Dhanush — Captain Miller
• Special Mention: Suren G. — Meiyazhagan
NON-FEATURE FILMS
• Best Non-Feature Film: Sumira Roy — Bhangaar
• Best Debut Film of a Director: Ravi Raj Murmu — Angen
• Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction/Compilation Film: Kamlesh K Mishra — Kakori
• Best Arts/Culture Film: Atul Pandey — Main Nida
• Best Documentary: Bharatbala Ganapathy — Ram-Nami
• Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values: Suraj Kumar — Piplantri: A Tale of Eco Feminism
• Best Animation Film: Joshy Benedict — Touched as Water
• Best Short Film (up to 30 minutes): Abhijeet Arvind Dalvi — Hamsafar
• Best Direction: Aanand L Rai — Statue of Unity – Ekta ka Prateek
• Best Cinematography: Edmond Ranson — Life in Loom
• Best Sound Design: T.S. Hari Hara Sudhan — Blue
• Best Editing: Manvir Jasrotia — NDA
• Best Music Direction: Shivpal Singh Kang — Parat 41°chya Magavar
• Best Narration/Voice Over: Soundarya Jayachandran — Little Planet: A Tale of Frogs
• Best Script: Faraz Ali — Obur
SPECIAL MENTIONS — NON-FEATURE
• Special Mention: Ananda Jyothi (Jose Antony) — Bhadra-Kali Natakam
• Special Mention: Jaymin Modi & Lokesh Ghai — Chola Dora aur Sui
WRITING ON CINEMA
• Best Book on Cinema: Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty — Naaniruvude Nimagaagi Naadiruvude Nanagaagi: Kannada Cinemada Thathva matthu Rajakeeya • Best Film Critic: Sanjeev Shrivastava
DADASAHEB PHALKE AWARD
• Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024: Anant Nag — Outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.
UNI PWS RN
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