Cinema strengthened India's cultural unity, says President Murmu
President Droupadi Murmu presented the 72nd National Film Awards for 2024 at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat on Tuesday, saying films transcend linguistic, regional and cultural boundaries and have strengthened India's cultural unity. 'Article 370' won Best Feature Film, while Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan shared Best Actor in a Leading Role. Yami Gautam was named Best Actress and Rajkumar Periasamy Best Director. Anant Nag received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
Source
Cinema · read the original report ↗
Desk check · compared with the source
What the desk checked (5)
- President Droupadi Murmu said cinema has strengthened India's cultural unity, speaking at the 72nd National Film Awards at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat. — Directly attributed to the President in the source, with quotes included.
- 'Article 370' won Best Feature Film; Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan shared Best Actor; Yami Gautam won Best Actress; Rajkumar Periasamy won Best Direction. — Figures and names appear in the source text and in its full winners list; internally consistent.
- 'Kalki 2898 AD' was named Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and Anant Nag received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024. — Both appear in the source's winners list; no external verification possible.
- The ceremony was moved from the national capital as part of a government effort to take the awards to different regions. — Stated in the source without attribution to a named official.
- The National Film Awards were instituted in 1954. — Background figure appears in the source; no source cited for it.
Analysts’ view opinion
This year's 72nd National Film Awards list says two things at once: strong recognition for films built on subjects of national significance ('Article 370'), and a genuinely wide spread across regional cinemas and big-scale entertainment. Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan sharing Best Actor is the symbolic moment — a Malayalam performance-driven film and a Hindi star vehicle placed on the same step of the podium. Read alongside the shift of venue from Delhi to Ekta Nagar in Gujarat and President Murmu's framing of cinema as a force for cultural unity, the ceremony itself is being positioned as a national cultural event rather than a capital-city ritual.
- The shared Best Actor honour means very different things for the two careers — another marker in a long body of work for Mammootty, and potentially a reputational shift from star to performer for Kartik Aaryan.
- 'Article 370' taking Best Feature Film, Best Actress (Yami Gautam) and Best Music Direction will inevitably fuel debate about how contemporary political subject matter is recognised — a discussion on which reasonable people will differ.
- 'Kalki 2898 AD' as Best Popular Film, craft wins for 'Pushpa: The Rule Part-02' and Best Telugu Film for 'Committee Kurrollu' show big-budget pan-India cinema and smaller regional work sharing the same list.
- 'Amaran' sweeping direction, editing and background score points to the technical depth of current Tamil filmmaking rather than a single standout element.
- The Dadasaheb Phalke Award to Anant Nag honours a long career rooted in Kannada cinema, and lifetime honours of this kind usually draw broad consensus.
What to watch — Watch whether the awards translate into fresh viewership for the winners — especially 'Article 370', 'Bramayugam' and smaller regional titles — on streaming or re-release, and whether the government keeps taking the ceremony outside the capital.
The story covers only the awards and the President's remarks; it establishes nothing about the jury's reasoning, box office or viewership numbers, or how the industry and audiences have reacted.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 3 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
The National Film Awards, instituted in 1954, are India's highest state recognition for cinema, covering feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema. On September 22, President Droupadi Murmu presented the 72nd edition, honouring work from 2024, at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat — a break from the awards' traditional venue in the national capital, part of a government effort to take the ceremony to different regions. Her address framed cinema as a force that crosses linguistic, regional and cultural boundaries and strengthens India's cultural unity.
Key facts
- President Droupadi Murmu presented the 72nd National Film Awards, for the year 2024, at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat on Tuesday, September 22.
- 'Article 370' (Jio Studios & B62 Studios) won Best Feature Film; Yami Gautam won Best Actress in a Leading Role for the same film.
- Mammootty ('Bramayugam') and Kartik Aaryan ('Chandu Champion') shared Best Actor in a Leading Role.
- Rajkumar Periasamy won Best Direction for 'Amaran', which also took Best Editing (R. Kalaivannan) and Best Background Music (G.V. Prakash Kumar).
- 'Kalki 2898 AD' was adjudged Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and won Best Production Design.
- Anant Nag received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024 for outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.
- 'Bhangaar' (Sumira Roy) won Best Non-Feature Film and 'Ram-Nami' (Bharatbala Ganapathy) Best Documentary.
- The National Film Awards were instituted in 1954 and cover feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema; language awards this year spanned Assamese to Tulu and Garhwali.
Timeline
- 1954National Film Awards instituted to recognise excellence in feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema.
- 2024The year of cinematic work for which the 72nd National Film Awards were given.
- September 22 (Tuesday)President Droupadi Murmu presents the 72nd National Film Awards at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, moving the ceremony out of the national capital.
Who has a stake
- President Droupadi Murmu — Conferred the awards and articulated the state's view of cinema as a builder of India's cultural unity.
- Award-winning filmmakers, actors and technicians — National recognition for 2024 work — from Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan to cinematographers, editors and costume designers.
- Anant Nag — Recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024, India's highest cinema honour for lifetime contribution.
- Union government / awards organisers — Shifting the ceremony to Ekta Nagar to decentralise the celebration of Indian cinema and take it closer to people across regions.
- Regional-language film industries — Best Film awards in Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Telugu, Garhwali and Tulu.
- Non-feature and documentary filmmakers — Recognition in categories such as Best Non-Feature Film, Best Documentary, animation, short film and narration.
Why it matters
The awards are the state's annual stocktaking of Indian cinema, and the spread of winners across fourteen language categories plus non-feature and documentary work signals official recognition of India's cinematic diversity. Holding the ceremony at Ekta Nagar instead of Delhi marks a deliberate decentralisation of a national cultural event. The President's framing of films as agents of cultural unity also places cinema within the wider debate on how popular culture shapes national identity.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- National Film Awards were instituted in 1954; categories cover feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema.
- 72nd National Film Awards (for 2024) presented by President Droupadi Murmu at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat — first shift away from the national capital venue.
- Best Feature Film: 'Article 370'; Best Actress: Yami Gautam; Best Direction: Rajkumar Periasamy for 'Amaran'.
- Best Actor in a Leading Role shared by Mammootty ('Bramayugam') and Kartik Aaryan ('Chandu Champion').
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024: Anant Nag.
- Best Non-Feature Film: 'Bhangaar'; Best Documentary: 'Ram-Nami'; Best Popular Film: 'Kalki 2898 AD'.
Mains framing
The 72nd National Film Awards illustrate how a state honour functions as an instrument of cultural policy. First, the spread of winners — Best Film awards in fourteen languages including Garhwali and Tulu, alongside documentary, animation and short-film categories — shows the awards' mandate, since 1954, to reflect linguistic and creative diversity rather than only commercial success, which is separately recognised through the Best Popular Film category won by 'Kalki 2898 AD'. Second, President Murmu's argument that cinema transcends linguistic, regional and cultural boundaries and that 'India's cultural unity has been established' positions popular film as a unifying medium, and she specifically noted films dealing with subjects of national significance, such as 'Article 370'. Third, moving the ceremony from Delhi to Ekta Nagar in Gujarat is presented as an effort to bring the celebration closer to people across regions — a decentralisation of cultural events comparable to holding national functions outside the capital. The way forward implied by the source is sustained recognition of small-language and non-feature cinema, whose visibility depends heavily on such state honours, and continued outreach so that the awards are experienced beyond metropolitan audiences.
Key terms
- National Film Awards
- State awards instituted in 1954 recognising excellence in feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema in India.
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award
- Honour for outstanding lifetime contribution to Indian cinema; given for 2024 to actor Anant Nag.
- Ekta Nagar
- Location in Gujarat (Kevadia region) where the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony was held instead of the national capital.
- Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment
- Category honouring mass-appeal cinema; won this year by 'Kalki 2898 AD' (Vyjayanthi Movies/Nag Ashwin).
- Non-feature film
- Category covering documentaries, short films, animation and similar work; Best Non-Feature Film went to 'Bhangaar' by Sumira Roy.
- Writing on Cinema
- Awards section for film literature and criticism; this year honoured a Kannada book by Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty and critic Sanjeev Shrivastava.
Practice questions
- Discuss how state recognition through the National Film Awards shapes the visibility of regional-language and non-feature cinema in India.
- 'Cinema strengthens India's cultural unity.' Critically examine this claim with reference to the diversity of films honoured at the 72nd National Film Awards.
- What is the significance of holding national cultural ceremonies such as the National Film Awards outside the national capital?
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.