The winners of the 72nd National Film Awards were officially announced on Saturday evening, July 18, 2026, during a press conference at the National Media Centre in New Delhi. Celebrating the finest cinematic achievements of 2024, the awards highlighted outstanding contributions from both mainstream Bollywood and prominent regional industries, showcasing a diverse spectrum of talent across various Indian languages.
The political-action thriller Article 370 emerged as the biggest winner of the evening, taking home a total of three major accolades, including the top honor for Best Feature Film. Yami Gautam secured the Best Actress award for her critically acclaimed performance in the film, while Sashwat Sachdev won for Best Background Music.
The Best Actor honor was shared jointly by Kartik Aaryan for his transformative performance in the sports drama Chandu Champion and veteran Malayalam actor Mammootty for his psychological horror film Bramayugam. On the directorial front, Rajkumar Periasamy won Best Direction for the Tamil biographical action-drama Amaran.
Major Feature Film Categories
| Category | Winner(s) | Film (Language) |
| Best Feature Film | — | Article 370 (Hindi) |
| Best Actor |
Kartik Aaryan Mammootty |
Chandu Champion (Hindi) Bramayugam (Malayalam) |
| Best Actress | Yami Gautam | Article 370 (Hindi) |
| Best Direction | Rajkumar Periasamy | Amaran (Tamil) |
| Best Supporting Actor (Male) | Sanjay Mishra | Bhakshak (Hindi) |
| Best Supporting Actor (Female) | Sachana Namidass | Maharaja (Tamil) |
| Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | — | Kalki 2898 AD (Telugu) |
| Best Film Promoting National/Social Values | — | Captain Miller (Tamil) |
| Best Debut Film of a Director | — | Swatantrya Veer Savarkar (Hindi) |
Technical and Musical Honors
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Best Screenplay: Shared between Bandreddi Sukumar for Pushpa: The Rule – Part 02 (Telugu) and Yogesh Deshpande for Swargandharva Sudhir Phadke (Marathi).
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Best Production Design: Kalki 2898 AD (Telugu).
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Best Costume Design: Deepali Noor and Sheetal Sharma for Pushpa: The Rule – Part 02 (Telugu).
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Best Cinematography: Shehnad Jalal for Bramayugam (Malayalam).
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Best Action Direction: Maharaja (Tamil).
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Best Sound Design: Manas Choudhury for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (Hindi).
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Best Choreography: Vijay Ganguly for the song “Aaj Ki Raat” in Stree 2 (Hindi).
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Best Playback Singer (Male): Abhay Jodhpurkar for the song “Navasachi Gauri Mazi” in Gharat Ganpati (Marathi).
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Best Playback Singer (Female): Vaikom Vijayalakshmi for the song “Angu Vaana Konilu” in A.R.M. (Malayalam).
Language-Specific Best Films
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Best Hindi Film: Srikanth
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Best Tamil Film: Raayan
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Best Malayalam Film: Feminichi Fathima
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Best Telugu Film: Committee Kurrollu
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Best Kannada Film: Mithya
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Best Marathi Film: Mukkam Post Bombilwadi
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Best Bengali Film: Chalvhitra Ekhon
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Best Gujarati Film: Maaran
Non-Feature Film Highlights
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Best Non-Fiction Film: Bhangaar (Marathi/English)
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Best Documentary Film: Ram-Nami (Hindi)
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Best Direction (Non-Feature): Aanand L. Rai for Statue of Unity: Ekta Ka Prateek (Hindi)
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Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction Film: Kakori (Hindi)
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Special Jury Mentions: Included notable recognition for actor Dhanush for his performance in Captain Miller.
