National Film Awards Move to Kevadia as Anant Nag Gets Dadasaheb Phalke Honour

The 72nd National Film Awards will be presented at Kevadia in Gujarat on Tuesday, shifting Indian cinema's most prestigious honours away from the national capital for this edition.

President Droupadi Murmu will confer the awards, which recognise achievement in Feature Films, Non-Feature Films and Writing on Cinema for 2024. The National Awards were instituted in 1954 and span a wide range of languages, regions and filmmaking traditions.

Veteran actor Anant Nag will receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution to Indian cinema. His career stretches over five decades, with a body of work rooted in Kannada cinema and widely recognised across the industry.

In the competitive categories, 'Article 370' has been named Best Feature Film, while 'Bhangaar' takes Best Non-Feature Film and 'Ram-Nami' Best Documentary. Mammootty ('Bramayugam') and Kartik Aaryan ('Chandu Champion') share the Best Actor in a Leading Role award, and Yami Gautam ('Article 370') receives Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Rajkumar Periasamy has been named Best Director for 'Amaran', and Randeep Hooda takes the Best Debut Director award for 'Swatantrya Veer Savarkar'. 'Srikanth' is Best Hindi Film and 'Mithya' Best Kannada Film.

Technical honours go to Shashwat Sachdev for Best Music Direction (Songs) for 'Article 370', G.V. Prakash Kumar for Best Background Score for 'Amaran', Manas Choudhary for Best Sound Design for 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3', R. Kalaivannan for Best Editing for 'Amaran', and Deepali Noor and Sheetal Sharma for Best Costume Design for 'Pushpa 2: The Rule'. Several other titles, including 'Kalki 2898 AD', 'Amaran', 'Pushpa: The Rule', 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3' and 'Stree 2', will be honoured across categories.

Sanjeev Shrivastava has been announced as Best Film Critic. The Best Book on Cinema award goes to 'Naaniruvude Nimagaagi Naadiruvude Nanagaagi: Kannada Cinemada Thathva matthu Rajakeeya', written by Dr Pradeep Kenchanuru and published by Mirror Pusthaka.

The winners were announced by Jayaraj, Chairperson of the Feature Film Jury; Aseem Sinha, Chairperson of the Non-Feature Film Jury; and A Chandrasekhar, Chairperson of the Best Writing on Cinema Jury, in the presence of Dr Ajay Nagabhushan MN, Joint Secretary (Films), and Dhirendra Ojha, Principal Director General, Press Information Bureau.

Holding the ceremony at Ekta Nagar, home to the 182-metre Statue of Unity dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, marks a new chapter for the awards. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting plans to take the celebration to different parts of the country in the coming years, bringing it closer to the regions that shape Indian cinema.