The Winners of the 72nd National Film Awards

On July 18, 2026, the winners of the 72nd National Film Awards were revealed.

The ceremony honoured the best films that were either released or certified in 2024.

These awards highlighted films across Indian languages, as well as Bollywood.

Aditya Suhas Jambhale’s Article 370 won ‘Best Hindi Feature Film’.

Kalki 2898 AD won ‘Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment’.

The 72nd National Film Awards were also divided into several sub-categories.

Kartik Aaryan won ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role’ within the Silver Lotus Award sub-category.

This was for his sterling performance in Chandu Champion.

Detailing his reaction to this accolade, the actor wrote on Instagram:

“Some moments are simply bigger than words.

“And this is one of them.

“A dream I’ve carried for years has finally come true.

“Forever humbled, forever grateful.”

Kartik shared this prize with Mammootty, who was awarded for his performance in the Malayalam film, Bramayugam.

Yami Gautam Dhar picked up the award for ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role’ for Article 370.

About her win, she said: “Every journey has a moment that reminds you why you never gave up.

“Today is that moment for me. Receiving the National Award for Article 370 is an honour I will cherish for the rest of my life.

“For 14 years, I have simply tried to stay true to my craft, work with honesty and let my performances speak for themselves.

“This honour feels like the culmination of a journey filled with hope, perseverance, resilience and an unwavering love for cinema.

“It is a dream I have carried in my heart for years and today, I receive it with immense gratitude and humility.

“Article 370 was never just another film for me. It was a story I deeply believed in.

“The fact that it was our home production makes this recognition even more emotional and personal.”

“Every challenge, every conversation and every day on set was driven by one shared purpose, to tell this story with honesty and conviction.

“This award is not the end of a dream, it is the beginning of a greater responsibility.

“To keep growing, to keep taking risks and to keep telling stories that matter.

“Dreams do come true but only when passion refuses to give up.

“This one’s for every dreamer who is still waiting for their moment. Never stop believing.”

In the Regional Awards category, films such as Chalchitra Ekhon, Maaran, Srikanth, Mithya, and Feminichi Fathima won ‘Best Feature Films’ in their respective languages.

These included Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam.

The actor Dhanush also won a ‘Special Mention’ certificate for the Tamil film, Captain Miller.

Dhanush also won an award for his directorial, Raayan, which was awarded ‘Best Tamil Feature Film’.

Dhanush stated that he was “truly humbled and overwhelmed”.

Here is the full list of winners:

Golden Lotus Awards

Best Feature Film
Article 370 – Aditya Suhas Jambhale (Director)
B62 Studios (Producer)

Best Direction
Rajkumar Periasamy – Amaran

Best Debut Film of a Director
Randeep Hooda – Swatantrya Veer Savarkar (Hindi)

Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment
Kalki 2898 AD – Nag Ashwin (Director)
Vyjayanthi Movies (Producer)

Best Children’s Film
35 Chinna Katha Kaadu – Nanda Kishore Emani (Director)
Suresh Productions (Producer)

Silver Lotus Awards

Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values
Captain Miller – Arun Matheswaran (Director)
Sathya Jyothi Films (Producer)

Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male)
Mammootty – Bramayugam
Kartik Aaryan – Chandu Champion

Best Actress in a Leading Role (Female)
Yami Gautam – Article 370

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)
Sanjay Mishra – Bhakshak

Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Female)
Sachana Namidass – Maharaja
Ropashree Varkady – Mithya

Best Child Artist
Athish S. Shetty – Mithya
Arundev Pothula – 35 Chinna Katha Kaadu
Riddhiman Banerjee – Onko Ki Kothin
Tapomoy Deb – Onko Ki Kothin
Gitashree Chakraborty – Onko Ki Kothin

Best Male Playback Singer
Abhay Jodhpurkar – Gharat Ganpati (Song: “Navasachi Gauri Mazi”)

Best Female Playback Singer
Vaikom Vijayalakshmi – ARM (Song: “Angu Vaana Konilu”)

Best Cinematography
Shehnad Jalal – Bramayugam

Best Screenplay (Original)
Bandreddi Sukumar – Pushpa 2: The Rule

Best Screenplay (Adapted)
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 & Sheetal Sharma – Pushpa 2: The Rule

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 (Song: “Jaane Do”)

Best Choreography
Vijay Ganguly – Stree 2 (Song: “Aaj Ki Raat”)

Best Action Direction
Anal Arasu – Maharaja

Regional Awards

Best Assamese Feature Film
Juiphool – Jadumoni Dutta (Producer)

Best Bengali Feature Film
Chalchitra Ekhon – Anjan Dutt (Director)
Anjan Dutt Production (Producer)

Best Gujarati Feature Film
Maaran – Abhishek Jain (Director)
Cineman Productions Limited (Producer)

Best Hindi Feature Film
Srikanth – Tushar Hiranandani (Director)
T-Series & Chalk N Cheese Films Production (Producer)

Best Kannada Feature Film
Mithya – Sumanth Bhat (Director)
Paramvah Studios & KRG Studios (Producer)

Best Konkani Feature Film
Mog Asum – Radheshyam Pipalwa & Agnelo Angelo Braganza (Directors)
Flowing Mandovi Films, R S Creations & Kathputlee Arts and Films (Producer)

Best Malayalam Feature Film
Feminichi Fathima – Fasil Muhammed (Director)
1001 Stories & AFD Cinemas (Producer)

Best Manipuri Feature Film
Sunita – Yumnam Ajit Singh (Director)
Skyline Pictures, Khuman Leipak Pictures, H. M. Production & Cultural Society Khuman Maheikol Production (Producer)

Best Marathi Feature Film
Mu. Po. Bombilwaadi – Paresh Mokashi (Director)
Vivek Films & Mayasabha Karamanuk Mandali (Producer)

Best Odia Feature Film
Lahari – Amartya Bhattacharyya (Director)
Jhilik Motion Pictures (Producer)

Best Tamil Feature Film
Raayan – Dhanush (Director)
Sun Pictures (Producer)

Best Telugu Feature Film
Committee Kurrollu – Yadhu Vamsi (Director)
Pink Elephant Pictures & Shree Radha Damodara Studios (Producer)

Special Mention

Special Mention
Dhanush – Captain Miller (Actor)
G Suseen – Meiyazhagan (Sound Mixing)

Congratulations to all the deserving recipients of the 72nd National Film Awards!