Lyrical Muse

The 72nd National Film Awards celebrated the finest achievements in Indian cinema on Saturday, honouring the films and artists that shaped an exceptional year across languages and genres.

Announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting at the National Media Centre in New Delhi, this year’s awards recognised films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) between January 1 and December 31, 2024. An 11-member jury led by acclaimed filmmaker Jayaraj selected the winners after reviewing entries from across the country.

Leading this year’s honours, Article 370 won Best Feature Film, while Yami Gautam earned her first National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the political thriller. Kartik Aaryan (Chandu Champion) and Mammootty (Bramayugam) shared the Best Actor award, and Rajkumar Periasamy received the Best Director honour for Amaran. Other major winners included Kalki 2898 AD, Srikanth, Captain Miller, Bhakshak and Maharaja, reflecting the diversity of storytelling that defined Indian cinema in 2024.

The competition proved especially fierce this year, with acclaimed titles such as All We Imagine As Light, Laapataa Ladies, Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life, Pushpa 2: The Rule, Stree 2, Premalu, Manjummel Boys and Hanu Man earning widespread critical acclaim, commercial success and international recognition.

Here’s the complete list of winners at the 72nd National Film Awards.

Winners of the feature films category

Best Feature Film: Article 370

Best Actor: Kartik Aaryan for Chandu Champion, Mammootty for Bramayugam

Best Actress: Yami Gautam, Article 370

Best Director: Rajkumar Periasamy, Amaran

Best Supporting Actress: Ropashree Varkady for Mithya, Sachana Namidass for Maharaja

Best Supporting Actor: Sanjay Mishra, Bhakshak

Best Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Kalki 2898 AD

Best Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values: Captain Miller

Best Debut Film of a Director: Swatantrya Veer Savarkar

Best Children’s Film – 35 Chinna Katha Kaadu

Best Child Artist: Riddhiman Banerjee, Tapomoy Deb, Gitashree Chakraborty, Arundev Pothula, Athish S Shetty

Best Cinematography: Shehnad Jalal, Bramayugam

Best Screenplay (Original): Sukumar, Pushpa 2

Best Screenplay (Adapted): Yogesh Deshpande, Swargandharva Sudhir Phadke

Best Dialogue Writer: Venky Atluri, Lucky Baskhar

Best Production Design: Nitin Zihani Choudhary, Kalki 2898 AD

Best Action Direction: Anl Arasu, Maharaja

Best Make-Up Artist: P Ravi Kumar, Committee Kurrollu

Best Costume Design: Deepali Noor & Sheetal Sharma, Pushpa 2

Best Music Direction: Shashwat Sachdev, Article 370

Best Background Music: GV Prakash, Amaran

Best Lyrics: Manoj Muntashir, Maidaan

Best Male Playback Singer: Abhay Jodhpurkar for “Gharat Ganpati” from Navasachi Gauri Mazi

Best Female Playback Singer: Vaikom Vijayalakshmi for “Angu Vaana Konilu” from ARM

Best Choreography: Vijay Ganguly, Stree 2

Best Sound Design: Manas Choudhury, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3

Best Editing: R Kalaivannan, Amaran

Best Assamese Film: Juiphool

Best Bengali Film: Chalchitra Ekhon

Best Hindi Film: Srikanth

Best Kannada Film: Mithya

Best Malayalam Film: Feminichi Fathima

Best Marathi Film: Mukkam Post Bombilwadi

Best Odia Film: Lahari

Best Tamil Film: Raayan

Best Garhwali Film: Dholi

Best Telugu Film: Committee Kurrollu

Best Gujarati Film: Maaran

Best Manipuri Film: Sunita

Best Konakani Film: Mog Asum

Best Tulu Film: IMBU

Special Mention: Dhanush for Captain Miller and Suren G for Meiyazhagan

Winners of the non-feature films category

Non-Feature Films: Special Mention

• Chola Dora aur Sui (Hindi) directed by Jaymin Modi and Lokesh Ghai
• Bhadra-Kali Natakam, directed by Ananda Jyothi

Best Script: Obur (Clouds) in Hindi and Kashmiri – Faraz Ali

Best Narrator: Soundarya Jayachandran, Little Planet: A Tale of Frogs

Best Music Direction: Shivpal Singh Kang ,Parat 41°chya Magavar

Best Editing: Manvir Jasrotia for NDA

Best Sound Design: TS Hari Hara Sudhan, Blue (Tamil).

Best Cinematography: Edmond Ranson, Life in Loom

Best Direction: Anand L Rai, Statue of Unity: Ekta Ka Prateek (Hindi)

Best Short Film: Hamsafar (Marathi)

Best Animation Film: Touched as Water (A silent film by Joshy Benedict)

Best Film promoting Social And Environmental Values: Piplantri: A Tale of Eco Feminism (Suraj Kumar)

Best Art/Culture Film: Main Nida, Atul Pandey (Hindi)

Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction/Compilation Film: Kakori (Kamlesh K Mishra)

Best Debut Film of a Director: Ravi Raj Murmu

Best None Feature Film: Bhangaar (Obsolete) – Marathi and English

Winners of other categories

Best Film Critic: Sanjeev Shrivastava

Best Book: Naaniruvude Nimagaagi Naadiruvude Nanagaagi: Kannada Cinemada Thathva Matthu Rajakeeya. (I Stand for You, the State Stands for Us: Political and Philosophical Dimensions of Kannada Cinema) by the author Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty.

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