72nd National Film Awards: Kartik Aaryan and Mammootty named Best Actors, Yami Gautam named Best Actress

New Delhi: The wait for the '72nd National Film Awards'—one of Indian cinema's most prestigious and significant honors—has finally come to an end. The winners were officially announced today, July 18, to recognize the outstanding films and artists of 2024. The National Award for Best Actor has been awarded to Kartik Aaryan (*Chandu Champion*) and Mammootty (*Bramayugam*). Yami Gautam received the National Award for Best Actress for *Article 370*. Meanwhile, the 72nd National Film Award for Best Film Critic has been conferred upon Sanjeev Srivastava in recognition of his profound understanding of Hindi cinema. Special Mention - Chola Dora and Sui (Hindi), Bhadra Kali Natakam (Malayalam); Best Short Film - Humsafar (Marathi)
Best Regional Film - Best Telugu Film - Committee Kurrollu; Best Tamil Film - Raayan; Best Marathi Film - Mukkam Post Bombilwadi; Best Odia Film - Lahari; Best Malayalam Film - Feminichi Fathima; Best Kannada Film - Mithiya; Best Hindi Feature Film - Srikanth; Best Gujarati Film - Maaran; Best Garhwali Film - Dholi; Best Bengali Film - Chalachitra Ekhon; Best Assamese Film - Juiphul; Best Manipuri Film - Sunita
Stunt Choreography -
Best Choreography - Stree 2 (Aaj Ki Raat) - Vijay Ganguly; Best Lyrics - Jaane Do (Manoj Muntashir); Best Music Direction - Shashwat Sachdev (Article 370); Best Background Score -
Best Makeup - P. Ravi Kumar (Committee Kurrollu); Best Costume - Pushpa 2 (Deepali Noor); Best Production Design - Kalki 2898 AD (Nitin Chaudhary); Best Editing - Manvir Jasroitia; Best Sound Design - Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3; Best Screenplay Writer - Bandreddi Sukumar (Pushpa 2); Best Dialogue Writer - Venky Atluri (Lucky Bhaskar)
Best Cinematography - Edmod (Life in Loom); Best Female Playback - Vaikom Vijayalakshmi (Malayalam); Best Male Playback - Abhay Jodhpurkar (Marathi)
Best Child Artist - ; Best Supporting Actress - ; Best Supporting Actor - Sanjay Mishra
Best Actress (Leading Role) - Yami Gautam
Best Actor (Leading Role) – Kartik Aaryan / Mammootty; Best Direction – Anand L. Rai (Ekta Ka Prateek); Best Feature Film – Article 370;
Best Documentary – Ram-Nami (Hindi); Best Art & Culture Film – Main Nida (Hindi); Best Historical Film – Kakori (Hindi); Best Debut Director – Ravi Raj Murmu; Best Non-Feature Film – Bhangar (Marathi-English).

How were the outstanding films selected?

This year's National Film Awards include all films that received certification from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)—commonly known as the Censor Board—between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024. The responsibility of selecting these films and determining the winners was entrusted to a distinguished 11-member jury.
This high-profile jury was chaired by the renowned filmmaker Jayaraj. Jayaraj had previously served on the National Film Awards jury in 2012. After reviewing entries from across the country, the panel finalized the names of this year's winners.