National Film Awards ceremony moves beyond Delhi: 72nd edition to be held in Gujarat

The 72nd National Film Awards will be presented by the President on September 22 at Ekta Nagar (Kevadia) in Gujarat, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting informed on Tuesday.

"In a major policy initiative, it has been decided by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to hold National Film Awards in various parts of the country, taking it beyond the National Capital," the ministry said.

The ceremony will bring together filmmakers, actors, technicians, and other artists from across the country to celebrate outstanding achievements in Indian cinema for the year 2024.

National Film Awards move beyond Delhi

Instituted in 1954, the National Film Awards are among India’s most prestigious honours for cinematic excellence. Over more than seven decades, the awards have recognised creative and technical achievements across feature films, non-feature films, and writing on cinema, while highlighting India’s linguistic, cultural and regional diversity.

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This year’s ceremony also marks a policy shift, with the government deciding to organise the National Film Awards in different parts of the country rather than restricting the event to the national capital.

The Ekta Nagar ceremony is intended to reflect the spirit of “Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat” by bringing together cinematic talent from across the country, the ministry said.

'Article 370' leads major honours

‘Article 370’ will receive the Best Feature Film award, while Yami Gautam will be honoured as Best Actress in a Leading Role for the film.

Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan have been named Best Actors in Leading Roles for ‘Bramayugam’ and ‘Chandu Champion’, respectively. Randeep Hooda will receive the Best Debut Director award for ‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’.

‘Bhangaar’ has been selected as the Best Non-Feature Film, while ‘Ram-Nami’ has won the Best Documentary award.

Several popular films will also receive recognition across different categories, including ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, ‘Amaran’, ‘Pushpa: The Rule Part-02’, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ and ‘Stree 2’.

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Spotlight on regional cinema

The awards will celebrate films across Marathi, Santhali, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Tulu, and Garhwali, among other languages. For the first time, a Santhali film will be honoured in the Non-Feature Film section, underlining the growing recognition of regional cinematic voices.

In the Writing on Cinema category, Sanjeev Shrivastava has been named Best Film Critic. The Best Book on Cinema award will go to Dr Pradeep Kenchanuru for his work on the political and philosophical dimensions of Kannada cinema.