72nd National Film Awards Winners: Full List of Indian Cinema Honorees
At the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, President Droupadi Murmu presented filmmaker Jadumoni Dutta with the Rajat Kamal for Best Assamese Film for Juiphool.
The prestigious 72nd National Film Awards honored exceptional achievements in Indian cinema. Celebrating artistic brilliance and technical innovation across languages, the grand ceremony presented the nation’s highest cinematic accolades to ground-breaking films and artists.
In the major performance categories, the Best Actor in a Leading Role award was shared between Kartik Aaryan for his inspirational performance in Chandu Champion and veteran star Mammootty for his chilling role in the folk-horror drama Bramayugam. The Best Actress in a Leading Role award went to Yami Gautam for her intense portrayal in the political thriller Article 370.
The headline title of Best Feature Film was bagged by Aditya Jambhale’s political thriller Article 370. Director Rajkumar Periasamy secured the Best Direction trophy for his biographical war drama Amaran. Actor Randeep Hooda took home the Best Debut Director award for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar. Meanwhile, the highest honour in Indian cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, was bestowed upon veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag for his lifelong contribution to screen arts.
In supporting performance honors, veteran character actor Sanjay Mishra won Best Supporting Actor for Bhakshak. The Best Supporting Actress accolade was jointly awarded to Ropashree Varkady for Mithya and young talent Sachana Namidass for Maharaja. In the popular film category, Nag Ashwin’s epic science-fiction spectacle Kalki 2898 AD took home the Best Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment award.
Indian regional cinema displayed exceptional strength at the 72nd ceremony. The best film trophies across language categories recognized outstanding regional storytelling:
- Best Hindi Film: Srikanth
- Best Tamil Film: Raayan
- Best Telugu Film: Committee Kurrollu
- Best Malayalam Film: Feminichi Fathima
- Best Kannada Film: Mithya
- Best Marathi Film: Mukkam Post Bombilwadi
- Best Bengali Film: Chalchitra Ekhon
- Best Gujarati Film: Maaran
- Best Assamese Film: Juiphool
Technical and musical craftsmanship received broad acclaim across several categories. Director Sukumar won Best Screenplay (Original) for the blockbuster Pushpa 2: The Rule. Music composer G. V. Prakash Kumar secured Best Background Score for Amaran, while Shashwat Sachdev won Best Music Direction (Songs) for Article 370. Lyricist Manoj Muntashir picked up the Best Lyrics award for Maidaan. Cinematographer Shehnad Jalal earned top honors for his atmospheric black-and-white visual work on Bramayugam.
In non-feature film and documentary segments, the Marathi release Bhangaar received the Best Non-Feature Film award, while filmmaker Bharatbala’s Ram-Nami was honored as Best Documentary. Director Aanand L. Rai earned the Best Direction (Non-Feature) award for Statue of Unity: Ekta Ka Prateek. The 72nd National Film Awards once again highlighted the rich diversity, cultural depth, and evolving artistic standard of contemporary Indian filmmaking.