Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag was honoured with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award at the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, on Tuesday, in recognition of his contribution to Indian cinema over a career spanning more than five decades.
President Droupadi Murmu presented the award at the ceremony, which honoured achievements in Indian cinema for 2024. Nag, who has worked extensively in Kannada cinema as well as Hindi and other Indian-language films, was selected for the country’s highest cinema honour for his enduring contribution to the industry.
72nd National Film Awards:
Best actor award for actors Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan for 'Bramayugam' and 'Chandu Champion', respectively. pic.twitter.com/sxWMsBQBks— News Arena India (@NewsArenaIndia) September 22, 2026
The ceremony also saw major acting honours for Malayalam cinema icon Mammootty and Bollywood star Kartik Aaryan. Mammootty received the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for his performance in the Malayalam film ‘Bramayugam’.
At the same time, Kartik Aaryan shared the honour for his portrayal of Paralympic champion Murlikant Petkar in ‘Chandu Champion’.
Yami Gautam was named Best Actress in a Leading Role for ‘Article 370’, which also won Best Feature Film.
Rajkumar Periasamy received the Best Direction award for the Tamil film ‘Amaran’.
‘Kalki 2898 AD’ won the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, while Randeep Hooda was honoured for Best Debut Film of a Director for ‘Swatantrya Veer Savarkar’.
The awards also recognised work across India’s diverse regional film industries. ‘Bhangaar’ was named Best Non-Feature Film, while ‘Ram-Nami’ won Best Documentary.
The 72nd National Film Awards marked the first time the ceremony was held outside New Delhi. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has announced plans to take future editions to different states and cities across India.
