Ekta Nagar: The 72nd National Film Awards will be presented at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat on Tuesday, marking the first time the prestigious awards are held outside the national capital as the Centre takes the ceremony to different parts of the country.
President Droupadi Murmu will present the awards on September 22, recognising achievements in Indian cinema for 2024.
Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag will receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024 for his contribution to Indian cinema and a career spanning more than five decades.
The government announced the award earlier this month on the recommendation of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award Selection Committee.
Instituted in 1954, the National Film Awards recognise excellence in feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema. The awards cover films and filmmaking across India’s languages, regions and cinematic forms.
Among the major honours for the 2024 film year, ‘Article 370’ has been selected as the Best Feature Film, while ‘Bhangaar’ has won Best Non-Feature Film and ‘Ram-Nami’ has been named Best Documentary.
Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan will share the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for ‘Bramayugam’ and ‘Chandu Champion’, respectively. At the same time, Yami Gautam has been selected as Best Actress in a Leading Role for ‘Article 370’.
Randeep Hooda will receive the Best Debut Film of a Director award for ‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’. The awards will also recognise several commercially successful and critically noted films.
‘Kalki 2898 AD’ has won the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, while ‘Amaran’ has received the Best Direction award for director Rajkumar Periasamy.
‘Captain Miller’ has been recognised as the Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values.
Other films receiving honours in different categories include ‘Pushpa: The Rule Part-02’, ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’ and ‘Stree 2’. The awards also span languages including Marathi, Santhali, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Tulu and Garhwali.
A Santhali film will be honoured in the Non-Feature Film section for the first time in the history of the awards, according to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The ceremony at Ekta Nagar, formerly Kevadia, is part of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s decision to hold future National Film Awards in different states and cities, rather than restricting the event to Delhi.
The ministry said the move would bring the celebration of Indian cinema closer to different regions and highlight the country’s linguistic, cultural and cinematic diversity.
The 72nd edition thus combines the recognition of the 2024 crop of films with a change in the setting of one of India’s leading cinema award ceremonies, with filmmakers, actors, technicians and other members of the film fraternity expected to gather in Gujarat on Tuesday.
(IANS)
