National Film Awards are announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoI&B) and have unveiled the names of the 72nd National Film Awards for National Western Indian and Indian non-feature films, writing on cinema, feature films, among others. The awards are for movies released in 2024 and certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). This year’s awards focused on meritorious performances, direction, music, technical skills and regional cinema and Article 370 was declared the Best Feature Film, while Yami Gautam was declared the Best Actress and Kartik Aaryan and Mammootty shared the Best Actor award.
About the National Film Awards
- Established in the year 1954 under the Government of India.
- Administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
- An annual award honouring excellence in Indian cinema.
- Includes Feature Films, Non-Feature Films, and Best Writing on Cinema.
- National Film Awards Update: Winners take home the Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) or Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus), a certificate and a monetary reward.
- Regarded as the highest official awards in Indian cinema.
72nd National Film Awards 2026: Complete Winners List
The National Film Awards are the most prestigious in Indian Cinema and are announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The awards honour artistic and technical excellence, as well as outstanding writing on cinema in feature films, non-feature films and cinema across Indian language film industries.
| S. No. | Award Category | Winning Film | Awardee(s) | Award & Cash Prize |
| 1 | Best Feature Film | Article 370 (Hindi) | Producer: Jio Studios & B62 Studios
Director: Aditya Suhas Jambhale |
Swarna Kamal + ₹3,00,000 each |
| 2 | Best Debut Film of a Director | Swatantrya Veer Savarkar (Hindi) | Director: Randeep Hooda | Swarna Kamal + ₹3,00,000 |
| 3 | Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Kalki 2898 AD (Telugu) | Producer: Vyjayanthi Movies
Director: Nag Ashwin |
Swarna Kamal + ₹3,00,000 each |
| 4 | Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social & Environmental Values | Captain Miller (Tamil) | Producer: Sathya Jyothi Films
Director: Arun Matheswaran |
Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 each |
| 5 | Best Children’s Film | 35 – Chinna Katha Kaadu (Telugu) | Producer: S Originals & Waltair Productions Pvt. Ltd.
Director: Nanda Kishore Emani |
Swarna Kamal + ₹3,00,000 each |
| 6 | Best Direction | Amaran (Tamil) | Rajkumar Periasamy | Swarna Kamal + ₹3,00,000 |
| 7 | Best Actor | Bramayugam (Malayalam)
Chandu Champion (Hindi) |
Mammootty
Kartik Aaryan |
Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 (Shared) |
| 8 | Best Actress | Article 370 (Hindi) | Yami Gautam | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 |
| 9 | Best Supporting Actor | Bhakshak (Hindi) | Sanjay Mishra | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 |
| 10 | Best Supporting Actress | Maharaja (Tamil)
Mithya (Kannada) |
Sachana Namidass
Ropashree Varkady |
Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 (Shared) |
| 11 | Best Child Artist | Mithya (Kannada)
35 – Chinna Katha Kaadu (Telugu) Onko Ki Kothin (Bengali) |
Athish S. Shetty
Arundev Pothula Riddhiman Banerjee, Tapomoy Deb & Gitashree Chakraborty |
Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 (Shared) |
| 12 | Best Male Playback Singer | Gharat Ganpati (Marathi) | Abhay Jodhpurkar (Song: Navasachi Gauri Mazi) | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 |
| 13 | Best Female Playback Singer | A.R.M. (Malayalam) | Vaikom Vijayalakshmi (Song: Angu Vaana Konilu) | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 |
| 14 | Best Cinematography | Bramayugam (Malayalam) | Shehnad Jalal | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 |
| 15 | Best Screenplay | Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2 (Original)
Swargandharva Sudhir Phadke (Adapted) Lucky Baskhar (Dialogue) |
Sukumar
Yogesh Deshpande Venky Atluri |
Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 each |
| 16 | Best Sound Design | Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (Hindi) | Manas Choudhury | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 |
| 17 | Best Editing | Amaran (Tamil) | R. Kalaivannan | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 |
| 18 | Best Production Design | Kalki 2898 AD (Telugu) | Nitin Zihani Choudhary | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 |
| 19 | Best Costume Design | Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2 (Telugu) | Deepali Noor & Sheetal Sharma | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 (Shared) |
| 20 | Best Make-up | Committee Kurrollu (Telugu) | P. Ravi Kumar | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 |
| 21 | Best Music Direction | Article 370 (Songs)
Amaran (Background Score) |
Shashwat Sachdev
G. V. Prakash Kumar |
Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 each |
| 22 | Best Lyrics | Maidaan (Hindi) | Manoj Muntashir (Song: Jaane Do) | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 |
| 23 | Best Choreography | Stree 2 (Hindi) | Vijay Ganguly (Song: Aaj Ki Raat) | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 |
| 24 | Best Action Direction | Maharaja (Tamil) | Anl Arasu | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 |
| 25 | Best Feature Film in Scheduled Languages | Assamese – Juiphool
Bengali – Chalchitra Ekhon Gujarati – Maaran Hindi – Srikanth Kannada – Mithya Konkani – Mog Asum Malayalam – Feminichi Fathima Manipuri – Sunita Marathi – Mukkam Post Bombilwadi Odia – Lahari Tamil – Raayan Telugu – Committee Kurrollu |
Respective Producers & Directors | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 each |
| 26 | Best Feature Film in Non-Scheduled Languages | Garhwali – Dholi
Tulu – IMBU |
Respective Producers & Directors | Rajat Kamal + ₹2,00,000 each |
| 27 | Special Mention | Captain Miller
Meiyazhagan |
Dhanush
Suren G. (Sound Mix Engineer) |
Andy Burnham Confirmed as UK Labour Leader
Conclusion on National Film Awards 2026
The 72nd National Film Awards 2026 honour the best of Indian cinema with awards for storytelling, acting, direction, music and technical quality alongside regional talent. The winners from this year capture the expanding diversity and quality of Indian cinema – focusing on engaging storytelling, inventive filmmaking, and strong acting across languages. The National Award continues to motivate excellence & creativity & cultural heritage, and may even set the elite standards for Indian cinema by recognising both mainstream and regional cinema.
