The 72nd National Film Awards winners are being announced in New Delhi, with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting revealing the recipients across feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema. The prestigious awards honour films that received certification from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024.The first set of announcements has recognised several outstanding contributions in the non-feature film categories, along with honours for writing on cinema. From sound design and editing to music, scriptwriting and film criticism, the awards have highlighted exceptional talent from across the country.
‘Feminichi Fathima’, ‘Blue’ and ‘NDA’
The best Malayalam film is ‘Feminichi Fathima’, and the best Hindi film is ‘Srikanth’. Among the early winners, the Tamil non-feature film Blue received the best sound design award. TS Hari Hara Sudhan was honoured for his work, adding another major recognition to the film.In the Best Editing category, the Hindi non-feature film NDA emerged victorious. Manvir Jasrotia was recognised for his editing, with the jury acknowledging his contributions to the documentary.The Best Music Direction award in the non-feature section went to the Marathi documentary Parat 41°chya Magavar (On the Trail of 41°). Composer Shivpal Singh Kang received the honour for creating the film’s musical score.
Narration, script and special mention winners
The English-language documentary Little Planet: A Tale of Frogs secured the Best Narrator award. Soundarya Jayachandran was recognised for her narration, which played an important role in bringing the documentary to life.Meanwhile, the Hindi-Kashmiri film Obur (Clouds) won the Best Script award. Writer Faraz Ali received the recognition for his screenplay.The jury also announced Special Mention awards for two non-feature films. The honour went to Chola Dora aur Sui, directed by Jaymin Modi and Lokesh Ghai, and Bhadra-Kali Natakam, directed by Ananda Jyothi. Both films were acknowledged for their notable contributions to non-feature filmmaking.
Writing on cinema winners announced
The Best Book on Cinema award was presented to 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). Written by Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty, the book explores the philosophical and political aspects of Kannada cinema.The Best Film Critic honour was awarded to Sanjeev Shrivastava. He received the recognition for his thoughtful analysis and critical writing on Hindi cinema.
72nd National Film Awards winners 2026 full list: Complete winners across all categories
72nd National Film Awards: ‘Blue’ Wins Best Sound Design for TS Hari Hara SudhanThe Tamil non-feature film Blue has received the Best Sound Design award at the 72nd National Film Awards. Sound designer TS Hari Hara Sudhan was recognised for his work on the film, earning the honour in the non-feature film category.72nd National Film Awards: ‘NDA’ Bags Best Editing; Manvir Jasrotia HonouredThe Hindi non-feature film NDA has secured the Best Editing award at the 72nd National Film Awards. Manvir Jasrotia was honoured for his editing work, receiving the recognition in the non-feature film section.72nd National Film Awards: Marathi Film ‘Parat 41°chya Magavar’ Wins Best Music DirectionThe Best Music Direction award in the non-feature film category has gone to the Marathi documentary Parat 41°chya Magavar (On the Trail of 41°). Music composer Shivpal Singh Kang received the honour for his contribution to the film.72nd National Film Awards: ‘Little Planet: A Tale of Frogs’ Wins Best NarratorEnglish-language non-feature film Little Planet: A Tale of Frogs has been awarded Best Narrator at the 72nd National Film Awards. Soundarya Jayachandran earned the recognition for lending her voice to the film.72nd National Film Awards: ‘Obur (Clouds)’ Takes Home Best Script AwardThe Hindi-Kashmiri non-feature film Obur (Clouds) has won the Best Script award at the 72nd National Film Awards. Writer Faraz Ali was honoured for penning the screenplay.72nd National Film Awards: ‘Chola Dora aur Sui’ and ‘Bhadra-Kali Natakam’ Receive Special MentionTwo non-feature films have been recognised with the Special Mention honour at the 72nd National Film Awards. The award has been presented to the Hindi film Chola Dora aur Sui, directed by Jaymin Modi and Lokesh Ghai, and Bhadra-Kali Natakam, directed by Ananda Jyothi.72nd National Film Awards: Kannada Book on Cinema Wins Best Book AwardThe Best Book on Cinema award at the 72nd National Film Awards has been presented to 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). The book is authored by Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty and explores the political and philosophical dimensions of Kannada cinema.72nd National Film Awards: Sanjeev Shrivastava Honoured as Best Film CriticFilm critic Sanjeev Shrivastava has been named Best Film Critic at the 72nd National Film Awards. He received the recognition for his insightful and analytical writing on Hindi cinema.
Full winners list
Best Feature Film: Article 370Best Actor: Kartik Aaryan for Chandu Champion, Mammootty for BramayugamBest Actress: Yami Gautam, Article 370Best Director: Rajkumar Periasamy, AmaranBest Supporting Actress: Ropashree Varkady for Mithya, Sachana Namidass for MaharajaBest Supporting Actor: Sanjay Mishra, BhakshakBest Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Kalki 2898 ADBest Film Promoting National, Social Values: Captain MillerBest Child Artist: Riddhiman Banerjee, Tapomoy Deb, Gitashree Chakraborty, Arundev Pothula, Athish S ShettyBest Cinematography: Bramayugam, Shehnad JalaalBest Screenplay: Pushpa 2, SukumarBest Dialogue Writer: Lucky Baskhar, Dialogue Writer: Venky AtluriBest Production Design: Kalki 2898 ADBest Action Choreography:Best Make-Up Artist: Committee KurrolluBest Costume Design: Pushpa 2; Deepali Noor & Sheetal SharmaBest Music Direction for Songs: Article 370, Shashwat SachdevBest Music Direction for Background Score: AmaranBest Lyrics:Best Male Playback Singer: Abhay Jodhpurkar, Gharat Ganpati from Navasachi Gauri MaziBest Female Playback Singer: Vaikom Vijayalakshmi for Angu Vaana Konilu from ARMBest Choreography: Stree 2Best Sound Design: Bhool Bhulaiya 3, Manas ChoudhuryBest Editing: Amaran, R KalaivannanBest Action Direction:Best Assamese Film:Best Bengali Film: Chalchitra EkhonBest Hindi Film: SrikanthBest Kannada Film: MithyaBest Malayalam Film: Feminichi FathimaBest Marathi Film: Mukkam Post BombilwadiBest Odia Film: LahariBest Punjabi Film:Best Tamil Film: RaayanBest Tai Phake Film:Best Garo Film:Best Telugu Film: Committee KurrolluBest Gujarati Film: MaaranBest Manipuri Film: SunitaBest Konakani Film: Mog AsumSpecial Mention: Meiyazhagan, Film Sound Mix Engineer: Suren GBest Film Critic – Sanjeev Shrivastava (Hindi)Best Book on Cinema – 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 Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar ShettySpecial Mention – Bhadra-Kali Natakam (Bhadra – The Dance of Kali) (Malayalam) – Director: Ananda Jyothi (Jose Antony)Special Mention – Chola Dora aur Sui (Hindi) – Directors: Jaymin Modi & Lokesh GhaiBest Narrator/Voice Over – Soundarya Jayachandran – Little Planet: A Tale of Frogs (English)Best Music Direction Shivpal Singh Kang – Parat 41°chya Magavar (On the Trail of 41°) (Marathi)Best Editing Manvir Jasrotia – NDA (Hindi)Best Sound Design T S Hari Hara Sudhan – Blue (Tamil)Best Cinematography Edmond Ranson – Life in Loom (English, Tamil, Hindi, Assamese & Bengali)Best Direction Aanand L Rai – Statue of Unity – Ekta ka Prateek (Hindi)Best Short Film (Up to 30 Minutes) Hamsafar (Marathi) – Producer: Anushka Motion Pictures & Entertainments; Director: Abhijeet Arvind DalviBest Animation Film Touched as Water (Silent) – Producer: JB Productions; Director & Animator: Joshy BenedictBest Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values Piplantri: A Tale of Eco Feminism (Hindi, Rajasthani & English) – Producer: Johnsons Suraj Films International; Director: Suraj KumarBest Documentary Ram-Nami (Hindi) – Producer: BBP Studio Virtual Bharat Pvt. Ltd.; Director: Bharatbala GanapathyBest Arts/Culture Film Main Nida (Hindi) – Producer: Sampreshan Multimedia Pvt. Ltd.; Director: Atul PandeyBest Biographical/Historical Reconstruction/Compilation Film Kakori (Hindi) – Producer: KSR Brothers & Minti Mishra; Director: Kamlesh K MishraBest Debut Film of a Director – Angen (Invisible) (Santhali) – Director: Ravi Raj MurmuBest Non-Feature Film – Bhangaar (Obsolete) (Marathi & English) – Producer & Director: Sumira Roy
