72nd National Film Awards: Kartik Aaryan, Mammootty share Best Actor; Pushpa 2 wins

The 72nd National Film Awards were presented on Tuesday at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat's Narmada district, with President Droupadi Murmu handing over the honours for films from 2024. For the first time the ceremony moved out of Delhi, and the Statue of Unity stood behind the stage as the winners collected their trophies.

One report had a good evening. Pushpa: The Rule won Best Costume Design for Sheetal Sharma and Deepali Noor, and Sukumar took Best Screenplay for the same film. Sharma said the team worked on the film for three years and that she stayed in the village where the story is set, calling Allu Arjun's Goddess look the hardest part to pull off. Reports say Kalki 2898 AD was named Best Popular Feature Film.

The Best Actor award was shared. Kartik Aaryan won for Chandu Champion, the 2024 sports biopic in which he played Paralympic gold medallist Murlikant Petkar, and Mammootty won for his turn as the malevolent Kodumon Potty in Bramayugam. It is Mammootty's fourth National Award, a record he now shares with Amitabh Bachchan.

Speaking after his win, Kartik said his family was overjoyed and thanked the jury and audiences across the country. In a long note he described himself as a small town boy from Gwalior who dared to dream, thanked director Kabir Khan and his producer for trusting him with the role, and dedicated the award to every Paralympian in India. He had landed a day early and spent it at the Statue of Unity, posting pictures with the monument and a plate of thepla.

Elsewhere on the list, Article 370 won Best Feature Film and Yami Gautam won Best Actress for it. Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Rajkumar Periasamy won Best Direction for Amaran, Randeep Hooda won Best Debut Director for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, and Sanjay Mishra took Best Supporting Actor for Bhakshak. Dhanush received a Special Mention for Captain Miller, while his directorial Raayan was judged Best Tamil Film.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has said the ceremony will keep travelling, with future editions held in different states.