The National Film Awards, considered the most prestigious in the Indian film industry, will be held outside Delhi for the first time this year. The 72nd National Film Awards Ceremony has been organized on September 22, 2026 at Ektanagar (Kevadiya), Gujarat. Awards will be given by President Draupadi Murmu.
Award ceremony will be held in Gujarat
The National Film Awards was started in 1954. The first award ceremony was held at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi. After that, for many decades the award ceremonies continued to be held in the capital Delhi only. Therefore, the decision to hold this year's ceremony in Gujarat is being considered historic. According to a report by Indian Express, President Draupadi Murmu will visit Gujarat on 23 September. She will attend the convocation ceremony of Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda and then attend a program of Brahma Kumaris in Padra. During the tour, she is also likely to visit Ekta Nagar, where she may present the 72nd National Film Awards.
The winners of the 72nd National Film Awards were announced in July 2026. Films released in 2024 were considered for these awards. The film 'Article 370' has been given the Best Feature Film Award. Actress Yami Gautam has won the Best Actress award for her performance in this film. Mammootty and Kartik Aryan have won the 'Best Actor' award.
At this year's awards, filmmaker Anand L. Rai has won the 'Best Director' award for the short film 'Statue of Unity – Ekta Ka Prateek' (Non-Feature Category). The film 'Kalki 2898 AD' has won the award for 'Best Entertaining Popular Film'. At the same time, Tamil film 'Captain Miller' directed by Arun Matheswaran has won the award for the Best Feature Film promoting National, Social and Environmental Values. Actor-director Randeep Hooda has been chosen the best debut director for the film 'Swatantryaveer Savarkar'.
72 year old tradition will change
This year's awards ceremony will be special because for the first time in the history of the National Film Awards, the awards ceremony is being held outside Delhi. This tradition, which has been associated with Delhi for more than seven decades, will now start a new chapter in Ektanagar, Gujarat.
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