72nd National Film Awards presented at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat
The 72nd National Film Awards ceremony was held at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat, where President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards to the winners. Kannada actor Anant Nag received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, while Mammootty ('Bhramayugam') and Kartik Aaryan ('Chandu Champion') received Best Actor honours. 'Kalki 2898 AD', directed by Nag Ashwin and produced by Vyjayanthi Movies, was named Best Popular Film; producer C. Ashwini Dutt received it. Niharika Konidela accepted the Best Telugu Film award for 'Committee Kurrollu'.
Source
Namasthe Telangana · read the original report ↗
Desk check · compared with the source
What the desk checked (5)
- The 72nd National Film Awards ceremony was held at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat, with President Droupadi Murmu presenting the awards. — Stated directly in the source; no external attribution given.
- Kannada actor Anant Nag received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. — Figure/name appears in source as reported fact, unattributed.
- Mammootty ('Bhramayugam') and Kartik Aaryan ('Chandu Champion') received Best Actor awards. — Names and films appear in source; no source cited.
- 'Kalki 2898 AD', directed by Nag Ashwin and produced by Vyjayanthi Movies, was named Best Popular Film; producer C. Ashwini Dutt received it. — Consistent within source, which notes the selection was already known.
- 'Committee Kurrollu' won Best Telugu Film; producer Niharika Konidela received the award. — Appears in source as reported fact, unattributed.
Analysts’ view opinion
This year's National Awards slate acknowledges two parallel currents in Indian cinema at once — the big-budget pan-India spectacle and the small, content-led film. ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ taking the Best Popular Film honour is effectively official validation of box-office scale, while ‘Committee Kurrollu’ winning Best Telugu Film shows award recognition is still possible without stars. The Dadasaheb Phalke honour for Anant Nag, alongside a Best Actor line-up pairing Mammootty with Kartik Aaryan, reflects a balance between southern and Hindi industries.
- ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ winning in the popular-film category ties commercial success to institutional prestige and lends further legitimacy to the pan-India model.
- ‘Committee Kurrollu’ as Best Telugu Film is a meaningful boost for modest-budget, content-driven cinema, and a strong credential for Niharika Konidela as a producer.
- Mammootty's Best Actor win for a film as stylistically bold as ‘Bhramayugam’ signals growing reward for senior stars who take creative risks.
- Kartik Aaryan's award for ‘Chandu Champion’ could mark a career pivot from commercial-hero image toward performer credibility.
- The Phalke award for Anant Nag reads as an honour for a long body of Kannada-industry work, and staging the ceremony at Ekta Nagar rather than Delhi is itself a notable shift.
What to watch — Watch whether the wins translate into fresh OTT or re-release viewership, especially for a smaller title like ‘Committee Kurrollu’ reaching a wider audience.
The story lists winners but does not establish jury reasoning, the full set of categories, or any measurable commercial impact from these awards.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 1 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
The National Film Awards are India's highest state recognition for cinema, presented by the President of India. The 72nd edition's presentation ceremony was held at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat, where President Droupadi Murmu handed over the awards to winners across languages and categories. The evening's highlight was the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the lifetime achievement honour in Indian cinema, which went to veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag. Winners or their representatives from Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada cinema received honours at the same ceremony.
Key facts
- The 72nd National Film Awards presentation ceremony was held at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat.
- President of India Droupadi Murmu personally presented the awards to the winners.
- Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag received the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
- Malayalam actor Mammootty received a Best Actor award for the film 'Bhramayugam'.
- Kartik Aaryan received a Best Actor award for the film 'Chandu Champion'.
- 'Kalki 2898 AD', directed by Nag Ashwin and produced by Vyjayanthi Movies, was named Best Popular Film; it starred Prabhas and Amitabh Bachchan in lead roles.
- Producer C. Ashwini Dutt received the award for 'Kalki 2898 AD'.
- Producer Niharika Konidela received the Best Telugu Film award won by 'Committee Kurrollu'.
Timeline
- Report dated September 23, 2026 (04:00 AM IST)News report of the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony held at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, with President Droupadi Murmu presenting the awards.
Who has a stake
- President Droupadi Murmu — Presented the National Film Awards to the winners as head of state.
- Anant Nag, Kannada actor — Recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the lifetime honour in Indian cinema.
- Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan — Received Best Actor honours for 'Bhramayugam' and 'Chandu Champion' respectively.
- Nag Ashwin and Vyjayanthi Movies — Director and production house of 'Kalki 2898 AD', adjudged Best Popular Film.
- C. Ashwini Dutt, producer — Received the Best Popular Film award on behalf of 'Kalki 2898 AD'.
- Niharika Konidela, producer — Received the Best Telugu Film award for 'Committee Kurrollu'.
- Gujarat / Ekta Nagar — Hosted the national awards ceremony, gaining national visibility as a venue.
Why it matters
The National Film Awards are the Indian state's highest formal recognition of cinema, and the choices signal which films and performances the country chooses to honour in a given year. This edition spread recognition across Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada cinema, underlining the multilingual character of Indian filmmaking. Holding the ceremony at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat rather than in the capital also marks a shift in where such national events are staged.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- 72nd National Film Awards presentation ceremony venue: Ekta Nagar, Gujarat.
- Awards presented by President of India Droupadi Murmu.
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award (72nd edition): Kannada actor Anant Nag.
- Best Actor honours: Mammootty for 'Bhramayugam' and Kartik Aaryan for 'Chandu Champion'.
- Best Popular Film: 'Kalki 2898 AD' (director Nag Ashwin, producer Vyjayanthi Movies / C. Ashwini Dutt).
- Best Telugu Film: 'Committee Kurrollu', award received by producer Niharika Konidela.
Mains framing
The National Film Awards function as the state's instrument for recognising artistic and popular achievement in cinema, and the 72nd edition illustrates both the spread and the tensions within that mandate. Awards distributed to Malayalam ('Bhramayugam'), Hindi ('Chandu Champion'), Telugu ('Committee Kurrollu') and a large-scale pan-Indian production ('Kalki 2898 AD', named Best Popular Film) show the jury balancing regional-language cinema, performance-driven work and big-budget commercial spectacle, while the Dadasaheb Phalke Award to Anant Nag acknowledges a lifetime of work in Kannada cinema. The presence of the President as the presenter underlines the constitutional and ceremonial weight attached to the honours, and the choice of Ekta Nagar in Gujarat as the venue reflects a wider practice of taking national ceremonies beyond Delhi. The way forward, on the evidence in the source, lies in sustaining this linguistic breadth so that recognition does not concentrate in a few industries; the source does not state any policy change in selection procedure or categories, so claims beyond the announced winners cannot be made.
Key terms
- National Film Awards
- India's state film honours, presented to winners by the President of India; this was the 72nd edition.
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award
- The most prestigious lifetime honour in Indian cinema; conferred this edition on Kannada actor Anant Nag.
- Best Popular Film
- National Film Award category for a popular, widely enjoyed film; won by 'Kalki 2898 AD'.
- Ekta Nagar
- Location in Gujarat where the 72nd National Film Awards presentation ceremony was held.
- Vyjayanthi Movies
- Production house behind 'Kalki 2898 AD'; its producer C. Ashwini Dutt received the award.
Practice questions
- Discuss the role of the National Film Awards in recognising India's multilingual cinema, with reference to the winners of the 72nd edition.
- What is the significance of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in Indian cinema? Illustrate with the 72nd edition's recipient.
- Examine the implications of holding national ceremonies such as the National Film Awards at venues outside the national capital.
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.