72nd National Film Awards: Anant Nag honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award; Mammootty bags top honour

Mangalore Today News Network

Gujarat, Sep 23, 2026: The 72nd National Film Awards were held in Kevadia, Gujarat, on Tuesday, September 22. The event was attended by the winners, who were honoured for their contribution to Indian cinema in the year 2024. They received the honour from President Droupadi Murmu.

Anant Nag was present to collect the highest honour in Indian cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. In his acceptance speech, Nag reflected on his five-decade journey in cinema, recalling his early years in theatre and the opportunities that shaped his career.

“In about five years, I acted in around 50 plays, different plays, which served as my training ground for acting. Over the last 50 years, I was invited to work in many films in other languages as well. I went there as an ambassador of Karnataka, because those people had great regard for my acting talent. As you have seen, I acted in many films in other languages too. But I had the greatest opportunities in Karnataka, particularly in my Kannada films. Last year, I had the good fortune of receiving the Padma Bhushan from the gracious hands of our dear President, Droupadi Murmu ji. And this time again, I feel very, very lucky and fortunate to have received what is supposed to be the highest honour in cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, again at the hands of Murmu ji. I am very grateful at this point.”

The Best Feature Film award was won by Article 370. The Best Actor win was shared by Kartik Aaryan (Chandu Champion) and Mammootty (Bramayugam). The Best Actress award was given to Yami Gautam (Article 370). The Best Supporting Actor award was won by Sanjay Mishra (Bhakshak), and the Best Supporting Actress award was shared by Ropashree Varkady (Mithya) and Sachana Namidass (Maharaja).

The Best Director award was won by Rajkumar Periasamy for Amaran. The Best Debut Film of a Director was won by Randeep Hooda for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar.

The Best Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment was won by Kalki 2898 AD and Captain Miller won the Best Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values. 35 Chinna Katha Kaadu won the Best Children’s Film award.

The Best Child Artist was shared between Riddhiman Banerjee, Tapomoy Deb, Gitashree Chakraborty, Arundev Pothula, Athish S Shetty.

Shehnad Jalal won the Best Cinematography trophy for Bramayugam, and the Best Production Design award was given to Nitin Zihani Choudhary for Kalki 2898 AD. Best Screenplay Original and Adapted were won by Sukumar (Pushpa 2) and Yogesh Deshpande (Swargandharva Sudhir Phadke), respectively. Venky Atluri won the Best Dialogue Writer award for Lucky Baskhar.

Anil Arasu won the Best Action Direction award for Maharaja, and P Ravi Kumar won the Best Make-Up Artist award for Committee Kurrollu. The Best Costume Design award was given to Deepali Noor & Sheetal Sharma for Pushpa 2. The Best Sound Design award was won by Manas Choudhury for Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. The Best Editing award was won by R Kalaivannan for Amaran.

Shashwat Sachdev won the Best Music Direction award for Article 370, and the Best Background Music award was given to GV Prakash for Amaran. Manoj Muntashir won the Best Lyrics award for the song ‘Jaane Do’ from Maidaan. The Best Male Playback Singer award was won by Abhay Jodhpurkar for “Gharat Ganpati” from Navasachi Gauri Mazi and the Best Female Playback Singer was won by Vaikom Vijayalakshmi for “Angu Vaana Konilu” from ARM. Vijay Ganguly won the Best Choreography award for Stree 2.

Best Assamese Film was won by Juiphool; Best Bengali Film was won by Chalchitra Ekhon; Best Hindi Film was won by Srikanth; Best Kannada Film was won by Mithya; Best Malayalam Film was won by Feminichi Fathima; Best Marathi Film was won by Mukkam Post Bombilwadi; Best Odia Film was won by Lahari; Best Tamil Film was won by Raayan; Best Garhwali Film was won by Dholi; Best Telugu Film was won by Committee Kurrollu; Best Gujarati Film was won by Maaran; Best Manipuri Film wa swon by Sunita; Best Konakani Film was won by Mog Asum; Best Tulu Film was won by IMBU.

The Special Mention honour was shared by Dhanush for Captain Miller and Suren G for Meiyazhagan.