India’s 72nd National Film Awards: A Super Simple Guide

Big News: Article 370 Wins Big

On Saturday, in New Delhi, India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced the winners of the country’s 72nd National Film Awards.

The movie “Article 370”, starring Yami Gautam, won the top prize: Best Feature Film.

• The film is a political drama (a serious movie about politics) about the removal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
• It was made by Jio Studios and B62 Studios.
• It was directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale.

Important: Yami Gautam also won Best Actress for her role in “Article 370”!

Top Acting and Directing Winners

Here are the main people who won for acting and directing:

• Best Actress: Yami Gautam (“Article 370”)
• Best Actor (shared by two people):
  1. Mammootty – for the Malayalam-language film “Bramayugam”
  2. Kartik Aaryan – for the Bollywood film “Chandu Champion”
• Best Director: Rajkumar Periasamy – for the Tamil-language film “Amaran”
• Best Debut Director (best first-time director): Randeep Hooda – for Bollywood film “Swatantrya Veer Savarkar”
• Best Supporting Actress (shared):
  • Sachana Namidass – Tamil film “Maharaja”
  • Ropashree Varkady – Kannada film “Mithya”
• Best Supporting Actor: Sanjay Mishra – Hindi film “Bhakshak”

Popular and Special Feature Films

Some movies won for being fun or meaningful:

• Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: “Kalki 2898 AD” (Telugu-language blockbuster)
• Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values: “Captain Miller” (Tamil film)
• Best Children’s Film: “35 – Chinna Katha Kaadu” (Telugu film)

Non-Feature Film Winners

Non-feature films are like documentaries or short films (not full stories).

• Best Non-Feature Film: “Bhangaar” (Marathi-English), directed by Sumira Roy
• Best Documentary: “Ram-Nami”, directed by Bharatbala Ganapathy

Technical Awards (Behind-the-Scenes Magic)

These people made the movies look, sound, and feel great:

• Best Cinematography (camera work): Shehnad Jalal – “Bramayugam”
• Best Editing (cutting the movie): R. Kalaivannan – “Amaran”
• Best Screenplay (story writing – three winners):
  1. Bandreddi Sukumar – original screenplay (“Pushpa: The Rule Part 2”)
  2. Yogesh Deshpande – adapted screenplay (“Swargandharva Sudhir Phadke”)
  3. Venky Atluri – dialogue (“Lucky Baskhar”)
• Best Sound Design: Manas Choudhury – “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3”
• Best Production Design (sets): Nitin Zihani Choudhary – “Kalki 2898 AD”
• Best Make-Up: P. Ravi Kumar – “Committee Kurrollu”
• Best Costume Design (shared): Deepali Noor and Sheetal Sharma – “Pushpa: The Rule Part 2”

Music and Song Winners

• Best Music Direction:
  • Shashwat Sachdev – songs in “Article 370”
  • G.V. Prakash Kumar – background score in “Amaran”
• Best Lyrics: Manoj Muntashir – “Maidaan”
• Best Choreography (dance): Vijay Ganguly – “Stree 2”
• Best Action Direction (fights): Anl Arasu – “Maharaja”
• Best Playback Singers (singing for actors):
  • Male: Abhay Jodhpurkar – “Gharat Ganpati”
  • Female: Vaikom Vijayalakshmi – “A.R.M.”

Regional Language Honors

Movies in many Indian languages won best film for their region:

• Assamese: “Juiphool”
• Bengali: “Chalchitra Ekhon”
• Gujarati: “Maaran”
• Hindi: “Srikanth”
• Kannada: “Mithya”
• Konkani: “Mog Asum”
• Malayalam: “Feminichi Fathima”
• Manipuri: “Sunita”
• Marathi: “Mukkam Post Bombilwadi”
• Odia: “Lahari”
• Tamil: “Raayan” (directed by Dhanush)
• Telugu: “Committee Kurrollu”
• Garhwali: “Dholi”
• Tulu: “Imbu”

Special Mentions (Feature Films)

• Dhanush – for “Captain Miller”
• Sound mix engineer Suren G. – for “Meiyazhagan”

More Non-Feature Awards

• Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction Film: “Kakori”
• Best Arts/Culture Film: “Main Nida”
• Best Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values: “Piplantri: A Tale of Eco Feminism”
• Best Animation Film: “Touched as Water” (directed by Joshy Benedict)
• Best Short Film: “Hamsafar” (Marathi)
• Best Direction (Non-Feature): Aanand L. Rai – “Statue of Unity – Ekta ka Prateek”
• Best Cinematography (Non-Feature): Edmond Ranson – “Life in Loom”
• Best Sound Design (Non-Feature): T.S. Hari Hara Sudhan – “Blue”
• Special Mentions: “Bhadra-Kali Natakam” (dir. Ananda Jyothi) and “Chola Dora aur Sui” (dir. Jaymin Modi and Lokesh Ghai)

Writing on Cinema

• Best Book: Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty – “Naaniruvude Nimagaagi Naadiruvude Nanagaagi: Kannada Cinemada Thathva Matthu Rajakeeya” (a Kannada book about the philosophy and politics of Kannada cinema, published by Mirror Pusthaka)
• Best Film Critic: Sanjeev Shrivastava

Who Chose the Winners?

• Feature Films: A central jury led by Malayalam filmmaker Jayaraj, with help from regional panels.
• Non-Feature Films: Jury led by Aseem Sinha.
• Writing on Cinema: Jury led by A. Chandrasekhar.

Note: The original text also mentioned Lokesh Ghai and the Malayalam film “Bhadra-Kali Natakam” (directed by Ananda Jyothi) at the end of this section, as already covered in the special mentions above.

Summary

India’s 72nd National Film Awards celebrated movies from all over the country. “Article 370” was the best feature film and Yami Gautam was best actress for it. Many actors, directors, technicians, and regional films won prizes. The awards were picked by juries for feature films, non-feature films, and writing on cinema.

FAQ

Q1: What is Article 370 the movie about?
A: It is a political drama starring Yami Gautam about the removal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Q2: Who won Best Actor?
A: Mammootty (for “Bramayugam”) and Kartik Aaryan (for “Chandu Champion”) shared the award.

Q3: What are non-feature films?
A: They are films like documentaries, short films, and animations—not full story movies.

Q4: How were the winners chosen?
A: By juries: one for feature films (led by Jayaraj), one for non-feature films (led by Aseem Sinha), and one for writing on cinema (led by A. Chandrasekhar).

Q5: Which film won best popular entertainment?
A: “Kalki 2898 AD”, a Telugu-language blockbuster.