The 72nd National Film Awards winners are being announced in New Delhi, with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting revealing the recipients across feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema. The prestigious awards honour films that received certification from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024.The first set of announcements has recognised several outstanding contributions in the non-feature film categories, along with honours for writing on cinema. From sound design and editing to music, scriptwriting and film criticism, the awards have highlighted exceptional talent from across the country.’Feminichi Fathima’, ‘Blue’ and ‘NDA’ The best Malayalam film is ‘Feminichi Fathima’, and the best Hindi film is ‘Srikanth’. Among the early winners, the Tamil non-feature film Blue received the best sound design award. TS Hari Hara Sudhan was honoured for his work, adding another major recognition to the film.In the Best Editing category, the Hindi non-feature film NDA emerged victorious. Manvir Jasrotia was recognised for his editing, with the jury acknowledging his contributions to the documentary. The Best Music Direction award in the non-feature section went to the Marathi documentary Parat 41°chya Magavar (On the Trail of 41°). Composer Shivpal Singh Kang received the honour for creating the film’s musical score.Narration, script and special mention winnersThe English-language documentary Little Planet: A Tale of Frogs secured the Best Narrator award. Soundarya Jayachandran was recognised for her narration, which played an important role in bringing the documentary to life.Meanwhile, the Hindi-Kashmiri film Obur (Clouds) won the Best Script award. Writer Faraz Ali received the recognition for his screenplay.The jury also announced Special Mention awards for two non-feature films. The honour went to Chola Dora aur Sui, directed by Jaymin Modi and Lokesh Ghai, and Bhadra-Kali Natakam, directed by Ananda Jyothi. Both films were acknowledged for their notable contributions to non-feature filmmaking.Writing on cinema winners announcedThe Best Book on Cinema award was presented to Naaniruvude Nimagaagi Naadiruvude Nanagaagi: Kannada Cinemada Thathva Matthu Rajakeeya (I Stand for You, the State Stands for Us: Political and Philosophical Dimensions of Kannada Cinema). Written by Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty, the book explores the philosophical and political aspects of Kannada cinema.The Best Film Critic honour was awarded to Sanjeev Shrivastava. He received the recognition for his thoughtful analysis and critical writing on Hindi cinema.
