The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced the winners of the 72nd National Film Awards for films certified in 2024, with the political thriller Article 370 winning the Best Feature Film award. Yami Gautam won the Best Actress (Leading Role) for her performance in the same film, while the Best Actor award was jointly conferred on Mammootty for Bramayugam and Kartik Aaryan for Chandu Champion. The awards, which cover feature films, non-feature films, and writing on cinema categories, were announced at the National Media Centre in New Delhi by an 11-member jury headed by Malayalam filmmaker Jayaraj.
The 72nd National Film Awards: Major Winners
The 72nd edition recognised films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024. The awards celebrate excellence across Indian cinema in three sections: Feature Films, Non-Feature Films, and Best Writing on Cinema.
Here are the winners in the top feature film categories:
| Category | Winner(s) |
|---|---|
| Best Feature Film | Article 370 (Hindi) |
| Best Actress (Leading Role) | Yami Gautam for Article 370 |
| Best Actor (Leading Role) | Mammootty for Bramayugam (Malayalam) and Kartik Aaryan for Chandu Champion (Hindi) |
| Best Direction | Rajkumar Periasamy for Amaran (Tamil) |
| Best Debut Film of a Director | Randeep Hooda for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar (Hindi) |
| Best Supporting Actor | Sanjay Mishra for Bhakshak (Hindi) |
| Best Supporting Actress | Ropashree Varkady for Mithya (Kannada) and Sachana Namidass for Maharaja (Tamil) |
| Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Kalki 2898 AD (Telugu) |
| Best Hindi Feature Film | Srikanth |
| Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values | Captain Miller (Tamil) |
Article 370: Best Feature Film and Best Actress
Article 370, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale and produced by Jyoti Deshpande, Aditya Dhar, and Lokesh Dhar under Jio Studios and B62 Studios, emerged as the biggest winner of the evening. The film, released in February 2024, is a political action thriller inspired by the 2019 revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution of India.
Yami Gautam played the role of Zooni Haksar, an intelligence officer involved in covert operations surrounding the abrogation. This is her first National Film Award. The jury chairperson Jayaraj noted that the film centres on the mission to fully integrate Jammu and Kashmir into the Indian Union, highlighting the battle against local corruption and the dismantling of a conflict economy.
The film also won the Best Music Direction (Songs) award, with Shashwat Sachdev receiving the honour for his composition in the film. Article 370 earned about ₹110 crore at the box office against a budget of ₹20 crore, making it one of the most successful mid-budget Hindi releases of 2024.
Joint Best Actor Award: Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan
The jury decided to split the Best Actor (Leading Role) award between two outstanding performers from different cinematic traditions.
Mammootty, a legendary figure in Malayalam cinema with over 400 films across multiple languages, won for his role in Bramayugam, a black-and-white folk horror film directed by Rahul Sadasivan. Set in the 17th century, the film follows a court singer who takes refuge in the mansion of Kodumon Potti, a mysterious and menacing sorcerer played by Mammootty. The film, shot entirely in black and white, was praised for its atmospheric storytelling, production design, and Mammootty’s chilling performance. Bramayugam also won the Best Cinematography award for Shehnad Jalal. Mammootty has previously won three National Film Awards for Best Actor for Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha (1989), Mathilukal (1990), and Paleri Manikyam (2009). This is his fourth National Film Award for Best Actor.
Kartik Aaryan won for Chandu Champion, directed by Kabir Khan. The sports biopic recounts the inspiring true story of Murlikant Petkar, India’s first Paralympic gold medalist, who won the gold in swimming at the 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics. Petkar, a former Indian Army soldier who was paralysed after being shot nine times during the 1965 India-Pakistan war, overcame immense odds to achieve sporting glory. He was later awarded the Padma Shri in 2018. This is Kartik Aaryan’s first National Film Award.
Best Director and Best Debut Director
Rajkumar Periasamy won the Best Direction award for the Tamil war film Amaran, which tells the story of Major Mukund Varadarajan, an Indian Army officer who was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra for his bravery during a counter-insurgency operation in Jammu and Kashmir. The film also won the Best Background Music award for GV Prakash Kumar and the Best Editing award for R Kalaivanan.
Randeep Hooda won the Best Debut Film of a Director award for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, a biographical drama about the life of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, the Indian revolutionary, politician, and ideologue who is widely regarded as the father of Hindutva. Hooda not only directed the film but also co-wrote, co-produced, and played the titular role. The film chronicles Savarkar’s journey from his early revolutionary activities, his imprisonment in the Kalapani (cellular jail) in the Andaman Islands, his writings on Hindutva, and his contributions to India’s freedom struggle. This is Hooda’s first film as a director.
Other Notable Winners Across Categories
Several films won major honours across regional and technical categories, showcasing the breadth of Indian cinema in 2024.
Kalki 2898 AD, the Telugu sci-fi epic directed by Nag Ashwin, won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment award and the Best Production Design award for Nitin Zihani Choudhary. The film, starring Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, and Amitabh Bachchan, was among the biggest box office successes of 2024.
Srikanth, the Hindi biographical film starring Rajkummar Rao as visually impaired industrialist Srikanth Bolla, won the Best Hindi Feature Film award. Captain Miller, directed by Arun Matheswaran and starring Dhanush, won the Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values award. Dhanush also received a Special Mention for the same film.
In the acting categories, Sanjay Mishra won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Bhakshak, while Ropashree Varkady (Mithya) and Sachana Namidass (Maharaja) shared the Best Supporting Actress award.
Pushpa 2: The Rule, directed by Sukumar, won the Best Screenplay (Original) award for Sukumar and the Best Costume Design award for Deepali Noor and Sheetal Sharma. Lucky Baskhar won the Best Dialogue Writer award for Venky Atluri.
Across the regional language categories, the winners included:
| Language | Best Film Winner |
|---|---|
| Tamil | Raayan |
| Malayalam | Feminichi Fathima |
| Telugu | Committee Kurrollu |
| Kannada | Mithya |
| Marathi | Mukkam Post Bombilwadi |
| Assamese | Juiphool |
| Bengali | Chalchitra Ekhon |
About the National Film Awards
The National Film Awards are India’s highest government-sponsored honours for cinematic excellence. They were established in 1954 and were originally called the State Awards for Films. The awards are administered by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Before 2021, the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) handled this responsibility.
The President of India presents the awards at a ceremony held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. The awards are given in three sections: Feature Films, Non-Feature Films, and Best Writing on Cinema. The top honour in each section is the Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus), while other categories receive the Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus).
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, named after the father of Indian cinema Dadasaheb Phalke, is the highest lifetime achievement award in Indian cinema. It was instituted in 1969 and the first recipient was Devika Rani.
The 71st National Film Awards (for films of 2023) were announced in August 2025, with 12th Fail winning Best Feature Film and Shah Rukh Khan and Vikrant Massey sharing the Best Actor award. The 70th National Film Awards (for films of 2022) saw Aattam (Malayalam) winning Best Feature Film and Rishab Shetty winning Best Actor for Kantara.
Key Takeaways
- The 72nd National Film Awards for films certified in 2024 were announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in July 2026.
- Article 370 won the Best Feature Film award, and Yami Gautam won Best Actress (Leading Role) for her performance in the same film.
- The Best Actor award was shared by Mammootty (his fourth National Award for Best Actor) for Bramayugam and Kartik Aaryan (his first) for Chandu Champion.
- Rajkumar Periasamy won Best Direction for Amaran, and Randeep Hooda won Best Debut Director for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar.
- The National Film Awards were established in 1954 and are administered by the NFDC under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
- Films certified by the CBFC between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024 were eligible for the 72nd edition.
