The central government hosted the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony at Ekta Nagar in Kevadia, Gujarat, marking a historic relocation for India's highest cinematic honours. Breaking a decades-long tradition of holding the event at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, the prestigious presentation took place against the backdrop of the Statue of Unity. President Droupadi Murmu conferred the awards to celebrate excellence in Indian films certified during the calendar year 2024.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw addressed the gathering, stating that the decision to shift the ceremony to notable tourist destinations reflects a nationwide reach inspired by India's recent G20 presidency. The 11-member feature-film jury was headed by Malayalam filmmaker Jayaraj, managing a pool of over 400 feature film entries and 161 non-feature entries across multiple regional languages.
Acting Honours and Top Categories
The highly anticipated lead acting awards witnessed a historic tie in the male category. Veteran Malayalam actor Mammootty received his fourth National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in the dark fantasy horror film Bramayugam. He shared the top acting honour with Bollywood star Kartik Aaryan, who secured his first-ever National Award for portraying real-life sports hero Murlikant Petkar in the biographical drama Chandu Champion.
The Best Actress in a Leading Role award went to Yami Gautam for her character portrayal in the political thriller Article 370. Produced and written by Aditya Dhar, Article 370 emerged as one of the most successful projects of the cycle, also securing the award for Best Feature Film.
Regional and Technical Milestones
In director categories, Rajkumar Periasamy took home the Best Direction trophy for the Tamil biographical action-drama film Amaran. Actor Randeep Hooda earned critical recognition for his behind-the-camera work, claiming the Best Debut Film of a Director award for the historical biography Swatantrya Veer Savarkar.
The technical segments highlighted deep regional diversity. Director Nag Ashwin's science-fiction epic Kalki 2898 AD won the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, while also taking home the award for Best Production Design. In regional representations, the Santhali film language entered the National Film Awards ledger for the first time. The Santhali film Angen, directed by Ravi Raj Murmu, clinched the Best Debut Film of a Director in the Non-Feature section.
Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag was honoured with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024, acknowledging a prolific career spanning more than five decades and 300 films.
| Category | Winner(s) | Film (Language) |
| Best Feature Film | Aditya Suhas Jambhale (Director) | Article 370 (Hindi) |
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Kartik AaryanMammootty | Chandu Champion (Hindi)Bramayugam (Malayalam) |
| Best Actress in a Leading Role | Yami Gautam | Article 370 (Hindi) |
| Best Direction | Rajkumar Periasamy | Amaran (Tamil) |
| Best Debut Film of a Director | Randeep Hooda | Swatantrya Veer Savarkar (Hindi) |
| Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Nag Ashwin Singireddy (Director) | Kalki 2898 AD (Telugu) |
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Sanjay Mishra | Bhakshak (Hindi) |
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Sachana NamidassRopashree Varkady | Maharaja (Tamil)Mithya (Kannada) |
| Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values | Arun Matheswaran (Director) | Captain Miller (Tamil) |
| Best Children's Film | Nanda Kishore Emani (Director) | 35- Chinna Katha Kaadu (Telugu) |
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2024) | Anant Nag | (Lifetime Achievement) |
Music & Writing Awards
| Category | Winner(s) | Film (Language) |
| Best Music Direction (Songs) | Shashwat Sachdev | Article 370 (Hindi) |
| Best Music Direction (Background Score) | G. V. Prakash Kumar | Amaran (Tamil) |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Abhay Jodhpurkar | Gharat Ganpati (Marathi) |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Vaikom Vijayalakshmi | A.R.M (Malayalam) |
| Best Lyrics | Manoj Muntashir | Maidaan (Hindi) |
| Best Screenplay (Original) | Bandreddi Sukumar | Pushpa 2: The Rule (Telugu) |
| Best Screenplay (Adapted) | Yogesh Deshpande | Swargandharva Sudhir Phadke (Marathi) |
| Best Dialogue Writer | Venky Atluri | Lucky Baskhar (Telugu) |
Technical Awards
| Category | Winner(s) | Film (Language) |
| Best Cinematography | Shehnad Jalal | Bramayugam (Malayalam) |
| Best Editing | R. Kalaivannan | Amaran (Tamil) |
| Best Action Direction | Anl Arasu | Maharaja (Tamil) |
| Best Choreography | Vijay Ganguly | Stree 2 (Hindi) |
| Best Sound Design | Manas Choudhury | Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (Hindi) |
| Best Production Design | Nitin Zihani Choudhary | Kalki 2898 AD (Telugu) |
| Best Costume Design | Deepali Noor & Sheetal Sharma | Pushpa 2: The Rule (Telugu) |
| Best Make-up Artist | P Ravi Kumar | Committee Kurrollu (Telugu) |
Key Non-Feature & Other Awards
| Category | Winner(s) | Film / Work |
| Best Non-Feature Film | - | Bangaar (Obsolete) |
| Best Documentary | Bharatbala Ganapathy (Director) | Ram-Nami (Hindi) |
| Best Debut Film of a Director (Non-Feature) | Ravi Raj Murmu | Angen (Santhali) |
| Best Film Critic | Sanjeev Shrivastava | (Hindi Writing on Cinema) |