National Film Awards to be held beyond National Capital; President Murmu to felicitate winners on 22nd of this month

By  News On Air   Sep 08, 2026

President Droupadi Murmu will present the 72nd National Film Awards on 22nd of this month at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat. In a major policy initiative, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has decided to hold National Film Awards in various parts of the country taking it beyond the National Capital. The ceremony at Ekta Nagar this year will bring together cinematic talent from across India, embody the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’. 

This year’s awards celebrate the diversity across a wide range of languages, genres and cinematic forms. Article 370 will be honoured as the Best Feature Film while Bhangaar has been adjudged the Best Non-Feature Film. Meanwhile, Ram-Nami has been chosen as the Best Documentary by the Jury. The award for the Best Actor in a Leading Role will be presented to Actor Mammootty for film Bramayugam and Kartik Aaryan for Chandu Champion. Actress Yami Gautam will be honoured as Best Actress in a Leading Role for Article 370. Furthermore, Randeep Hooda will receive the Best Debut Director award for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar. Several films, including ‘Amaran’, ‘Pushpa: The Rule Part-02’, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ and ‘Stree 2’, will also receive honours in various categories. In the Best Writing on Cinema category, Sanjeev Shrivastava has been announced as Best Film Critic award.

The Awards also recognise excellence in films across languages and forms, including Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Tulu and Garhwali, among others. The Ministry noted that for the first time, a Santhali film will be honoured in the Non-Feature Film section of the National Film Awards. 

Instituted in 1954, the National Film Awards are the country’s most prestigious honours for excellence in cinema. Over seven decades, the Awards have recognised outstanding creative and technical achievements across feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema, while reflecting the rich linguistic, cultural and regional diversity of Indian filmmaking.