National Film Awards: Article 370 and Yami Gautam win big

President Droupadi Murmu presented the 72nd National Film Awards at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, honoring excellence in Indian cinema. Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag received the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his lifelong contribution to the industry.

The political thriller ‘Article 370’ emerged as a major winner, securing Best Feature Film, Best Actress for Yami Gautam, and Best Music Direction for Shashwat Sachdev. Yami Gautam expressed that the win was the “biggest validation for any artist.”

In the acting categories, Mammootty (for ‘Bramayugam’) and Kartik Aaryan (for ‘Chandu Champion’) jointly received the Best Actor award. Other notable winners included Randeep Hooda for Best Debut Director (‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’) and Rajkumar Periasamy for Best Director (‘Amaran’).

Regional cinema also saw significant recognition, with the Garhwali film ‘Dholi’ winning Best Garhwali Film and ‘Imbu’ winning Best Tulu Film. The ceremony highlighted the linguistic and cultural diversity of Indian filmmaking, featuring entries from 34 different languages.