The winners of the 72nd National Film Awards are being announced in New Delhi, with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting unveiling this year's honours across feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema. The awards recognise films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) between January 1 and December 31, 2024.Widely regarded as India's highest official recognition for cinematic excellence, the National Film Awards celebrate achievements across feature films, documentaries, short films, regional cinema and technical categories. The selection process this year was carried out by an 11-member jury headed by acclaimed Malayalam filmmaker Jayaraj, who previously served on the National Film Awards jury in 2012.Malayalam cinema has once again made a strong impression at the awards. Feminichi Fathima, directed by Fasil Muhammed, has been named Best Malayalam Film. In other regional honours announced so far, Raayan has won Best Tamil Film, while Committee Kurrollu has been declared Best Telugu Film.Among the feature film awards, Obur (Clouds), written by Faraz Ali in Hindi and Kashmiri, has received the Best Script honour. Special Mention awards have gone to Suren G, the sound mix engineer of Meiyazhagan, and actor Dhanush for Captain Miller.The non-feature section has also recognised several films and filmmakers. Ram-Nami has won Best Documentary, while Hamsafar has been named Best Short Film (Up to 30 Minutes). Touched as Water has received the Best Animation Film award, and Piplantri: A Tale of Eco Feminism has been honoured as Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values.Other winners include Main Nida for Best Arts/Culture Film, Kakori for Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction/Compilation Film, Angen (Invisible) for Best Debut Film of a Director, and Bhangaar (Obsolete) for Best Non-Feature Film.In the writing on cinema category, Sanjeev Shrivastava (Hindi) has been named Best Film Critic, while Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty has won Best Book on Cinema for 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).Technical honours announced so far include Soundarya Jayachandran for Best Narrator/Voice Over, Shivpal Singh Kang for Best Music Direction, Manvir Jasrotia for Best Editing, T S Hari Hara Sudhan for Best Sound Design, Edmond Ranson for Best Cinematography, and Aanand L Rai for Best Direction in the non-feature category for Statue of Unity – Ekta ka Prateek.72nd National Film Awards 2026 winners: Full listFeature Film AwardsBest Feature Film Best Actor Best Actress Best Director Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress Best Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment Best Film Promoting National, Social Values Best Child Artist Best Cinematography Best Screenplay Best Script Obur (Clouds) – Faraz AliBest Dialogue Writer Best Production Design Best Action Choreography Best Make-Up Artist Best Costume Design Best Music Direction (Songs) Best Music Direction (Background Score) Best Lyrics Best Male Playback Singer Best Female Playback Singer Best Choreography Best Sound Design Best Editing Best Action Direction Best Assamese Film Best Bengali Film Best Hindi Film Best Kannada Film Best Malayalam Film Feminichi FathimaBest Marathi Film Best Odia Film Best Punjabi Film Best Tamil Film RaayanBest Tai Phake Film Best Garo Film Best Telugu Film Committee KurrolluBest Gujarati Film Special Mention Suren G (Meiyazhagan), Dhanush (Captain Miller)Non-Feature Film AwardsBest Non-Feature Film Bhangaar (Obsolete)Best Debut Film of a Director Angen (Invisible)Best Documentary Ram-NamiBest Animation Film Touched as WaterBest Short Film (Up to 30 Minutes) HamsafarBest Arts/Culture Film Main NidaBest Biographical/Historical Reconstruction/Compilation Film KakoriBest Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values Piplantri: A Tale of Eco FeminismBest Direction Aanand L Rai – Statue of Unity – Ekta ka PrateekBest Cinematography Edmond Ranson – Life in LoomBest Sound Design T S Hari Hara Sudhan – BlueBest Editing Manvir Jasrotia – NDABest Music Direction Shivpal Singh Kang – Parat 41°chya MagavarBest Narrator/Voice Over Soundarya Jayachandran – Little Planet: A Tale of FrogsBest Film Critic Sanjeev Shrivastava (Hindi)Best Book on Cinema Naaniruvude Nimagaagi Naadiruvude Nanagaagi: Kannada Cinemada Thathva Matthu Rajakeeya – Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar ShettySpecial Mention Bhadra-Kali Natakam; Chola Dora aur Sui