The 72nd National Film Awards for the year 2024 were announced in New Delhi, celebrating a wide range of Indian cinema that reflects both national events and personal journeys.

The Best Feature Film award went to 'Article 370', a political thriller based on the removal of Jammu and Kashmir's special status, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale.Yami Gautam won Best Actress for her role as an intelligence officer in the same film.

In the Best Direction category, Rajkumar Periasamy was honoured for 'Amaran', a Tamil film based on the life of Major Mukund Varadarajan, an Army officer killed in Kashmir.Randeep Hooda received the Best Debut Director award for his biopic 'Swatantrya Veer Savarkar'.The awards also recognised films promoting national values like 'Captain Miller'.

On the other side, Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan shared the Best Actor award for their powerful performances in 'Bramayugam' and 'Chandu Champion' respectively.

Non-feature films brought forward touching human stories, such as 'Bhangaar' about an elderly Mumbai couple seeking euthanasia, 'Piplantri' on a Rajasthan village planting trees for girl children, and 'Ram-Nami' documenting the Ramnami community in Chhattisgarh.'Feminichi Fathima' highlighted a woman's quiet resistance in Kerala.These choices show Indian cinema capturing ideas from government decisions and historical events to everyday fights for dignity and freedom.Awards were also given across various regional languages, craft categories like music, cinematography, and writing on cinema.Overall, the honours present a balanced view of India through films that go beyond mainstream narratives.(Word count: 278)