72nd National Film Awards 2026: Who Won Best Actor, Best Actress, And Best Film?

72nd National Film Awards 2026: Who Won Best Actor, Best Actress, And Best Film? Complete List & Details Hello dosto! If you are a big movie lover jus

72nd National Film Awards 2026: Who Won Best Actor, Best Actress, And Best Film? Complete List & Details

Hello dosto! If you are a big movie lover just like us, then you must be very excited to know all the masala and updates about the 72nd National Film Awards for the year 2026. The wait is finally over! On July 18, 2026, the Government of India finally announced the winners for the movies released in the year 2024. It was a day full of big surprises, happy tears, and some intense social media debates!

The National Film Awards are like the Oscars of India. Getting a National Award is the ultimate dream for any actor, director, or technician in the Indian film industry. This year, the competition was super tough. We had mega-blockbusters like Kalki 2898 AD and Pushpa 2: The Rule competing against content-driven masterpieces like Bramayugam, Chandu Champion, and Article 370. The jury had a very difficult job, but the final list is here, and it has left the fans cheering loudly!

Quick Highlights of 72nd National Film Awards 2026

• Best Feature Film: Article 370 (Hindi)
• Best Actor: Mammootty (Bramayugam) & Kartik Aaryan (Chandu Champion) shared the award!
• Best Actress: Yami Gautam for Article 370
• Best Director: Rajkumar Periasamy for Amaran (Tamil)
• Best Debut Director: Randeep Hooda for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar

Best Actor Award: A Tie Between Legend and Young Blood

Bhai, this was the biggest news of the evening! The Best Actor in a Leading Role award went to two completely different actors from two completely different film industries. The award was shared by Malayalam superstar Mammootty for his dark, scary role in Bramayugam, and Bollywood's heartthrob Kartik Aaryan for his highly emotional role in Chandu Champion.

Mammootty Bags His 4th National Award!

What can we even say about Mammootty? The man is an absolute legend of Indian cinema. By winning this award for Bramayugam, Mammootty sir has now won his fourth National Award for Best Actor in his lifetime! In Bramayugam, a black-and-white horror thriller, Mammootty played a very negative and scary character. His evil laugh, his dialogue delivery, and his pure screen presence gave everyone goosebumps.

Even Kamal Haasan sir took to Twitter (X) to congratulate his "dear Mammukka". His son, Dulquer Salmaan, also shared a very funny and cute chat on Instagram where he joked with his dad saying, "Another one? Yes Pa! It's like your FOURTH!" This shows how much respect Mammootty commands in the industry. At his age, he is still reinventing himself and doing roles that young actors are scared to try.

Kartik Aaryan's Hard Work Pays Off

On the other hand, Kartik Aaryan getting the Best Actor award shocked many people, but his fans are super happy! Kartik worked extremely hard for Kabir Khan's Chandu Champion. He played the role of India's first Paralympic gold medalist, Murlikant Petkar. Kartik had to lose weight, gain muscles, learn boxing, and show a very emotional journey on screen. This is Kartik's first-ever National Award!

Kartik posted on Instagram saying, "Still processing... Some moments are simply bigger than words. A dream I've carried for years has finally come true." While some Reddit and Twitter users debated if he deserved to share the stage with a legend like Mammootty, true cinema lovers agreed that Kartik's pure dedication for Chandu Champion definitely deserved top recognition.

Best Actress Award: Yami Gautam Shines Bright

The Best Actress in a Leading Role award went to none other than the beautiful and talented Yami Gautam for her power-packed performance in Article 370. This is Yami's first-ever National Award, and she totally deserved it!

In Article 370, Yami played the role of Zooni Haksar, an intelligence officer. She performed heavy action scenes, gave very emotional dialogues, and completely carried the whole movie on her shoulders. For a very long time, Yami Gautam was under-appreciated in Bollywood, but this award is a tight slap to all the doubters. South Indian and North Indian fans alike are celebrating her victory, saying she finally got the respect she deserves over other star kids!

Best Feature Film: Article 370 Takes The Crown

The biggest award of the night, the Best Feature Film, was given to the Hindi movie Article 370. Directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale and produced by Aditya Dhar (who earlier made Uri: The Surgical Strike), this movie was a huge hit at the box office and now with the critics too.

The movie actually won three major awards: Best Film, Best Actress (Yami Gautam), and Best Music Direction for Songs (Shashwat Sachdev). The producer, Aditya Dhar, was very emotional. He released a statement saying that winning three National Awards is a moment that is difficult to put into words. He thanked his wife Yami Gautam, actress Priyamani, and the whole team for making this political action-thriller a masterpiece.

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South Indian Cinema Dominates Again!

Just like the last few years, South Indian movies showed their pure magic and power at the 72nd National Film Awards. From Tamil to Telugu to Malayalam, regional movies swept many top categories!

• Amaran (Tamil): This movie was a huge winner! Directed by Rajkumar Periasamy (who won Best Director), this film tells the real-life story of Indian Army hero Major Mukund Varadarajan. It also won Best Editing (R Kalaivannan) and Best Background Music for the famous GV Prakash Kumar (his 3rd National Award!).
• Kalki 2898 AD (Telugu): Starring Prabhas and Amitabh Bachchan, this mega sci-fi movie won the Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, plus Best Production Design.
• Pushpa 2: The Rule (Telugu): Allu Arjun's swag is still alive! The movie won Best Screenplay (Original) for director Sukumar and Best Costume Design.
• Dhanush's Double Magic: Actor Dhanush won the Best Tamil Film award as a director for his movie Raayan. He also got a Special Mention (Best Actor) for his performance in Captain Miller, which won the award for Best Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values.

Full Winners List: 72nd National Film Awards 2026

To make it very easy for you, we have compiled the complete list of winners in simple tables below. Check out if your favorite movie or star won an award this year!

Major Acting & Directing Awards

Category	Winner Name	Film (Language)
Best Feature Film	Aditya Suhas Jambhale (Director)	Article 370 (Hindi)
Best Actor (Shared)	Kartik Aaryan & Mammootty	Chandu Champion (Hindi) & Bramayugam (Malayalam)
Best Actress	Yami Gautam	Article 370 (Hindi)
Best Director	Rajkumar Periasamy	Amaran (Tamil)
Best Supporting Actor	Sanjay Mishra	Bhakshak (Hindi)
Best Supporting Actress (Shared)	Sachana Namidass & Ropashree Varkady	Maharaja (Tamil) & Mithya (Kannada)
Best Debut Director	Randeep Hooda	Swatantrya Veer Savarkar (Hindi)

Special Film Categories

Category	Winning Film
Best Popular Film (Wholesome Entertainment)	Kalki 2898 AD (Telugu)
Best Film on Social/National Values	Captain Miller (Tamil)
Best Children's Film	35- Chinna Katha Kaadu (Telugu)
Best Non-Feature Film	Bhangaar
Best Documentary	Ram-Nami

Technical, Music & Writing Awards

Category	Winner Name	Film
Best Music Direction (Songs)	Shashwat Sachdev	Article 370
Best Background Music	G. V. Prakash Kumar	Amaran
Best Male Playback Singer	Abhay Jodhpurkar	Gharat Ganpati (Marathi)
Best Female Playback Singer	Vaikom Vijayalakshmi	A. R. M (Malayalam)
Best Lyrics	Manoj Muntashir	Maidaan
Best Cinematography	Shehnad Jalal	Bramayugam
Best Screenplay (Original)	Sukumar	Pushpa 2: The Rule
Best Dialogue Writer	Venky Atluri	Lucky Baskhar
Best Action Direction	Anl Arasu	Maharaja
Best Choreography	Vijay Ganguly	Stree 2

Best Regional Language Films

Language Category	Winning Film
Best Hindi Film	Srikanth
Best Tamil Film	Raayan
Best Telugu Film	Committee Kurrollu
Best Malayalam Film	Feminichi Fathima
Best Kannada Film	Mithya
Best Bengali Film	Chalchitra Ekhon
Best Marathi Film	Mukkam Post Bombilwadi

Public Reactions & Controversies

Whenever awards are announced, social media gets divided into two halves. This year was no different! On Twitter and Reddit, fans started massive debates. The biggest debate was about the Best Actor award. Hardcore Malayalam movie fans felt that Mammootty's acting in Bramayugam was a masterclass and he should have won it solo. They felt tying him with Kartik Aaryan was unfair. However, Bollywood fans strongly defended Kartik, saying Chandu Champion was extremely tough to shoot and Kartik gave his blood and sweat for it.

Another big talking point was the snubs (movies that did not win). Many Tamil cinema lovers were heartbroken because amazing films like Maharaja (which only won Supporting Actress and Action Direction), Meiyazhagan, Kottukkaali, and Vaazhai were ignored for the top main awards. Some fans were also angry that Randeep Hooda did not win Best Actor for Veer Savarkar, though he was very happy to win the Best Debut Director award for the same film!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about 72nd National Film Awards

1. Who won the Best Actor award in 72nd National Film Awards 2026?

The Best Actor award was shared by two actors: Mammootty for the Malayalam movie Bramayugam and Kartik Aaryan for the Hindi movie Chandu Champion.

2. Which film won the Best Feature Film award?

The Hindi political action-thriller Article 370, starring Yami Gautam and directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, won the Best Feature Film award.

3. Did Kalki 2898 AD win any National Award?

Yes! The mega-blockbuster Kalki 2898 AD won two awards: Best Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and Best Production Design.

4. Who is the Best Actress in the 72nd National Film Awards?

Yami Gautam won the Best Actress in a Leading Role award for her brilliant performance in Article 370.

5. Which movie won the Best Hindi Film?

Rajkummar Rao's movie Srikanth was honored with the Best Hindi Film award.

6. How many National Awards does Mammootty have now?

With his win for Bramayugam, Mammootty has now won 4 National Film Awards for Best Actor in his legendary career.

7. Did Pushpa 2: The Rule win anything?

Yes, Pushpa 2 won Best Screenplay (Original) for director Sukumar and Best Costume Design for Deepali Noor & Sheetal Sharma.

8. Who won the Best Director award?

Rajkumar Periasamy won the Best Director award for the Tamil blockbuster movie Amaran, starring Sivakarthikeyan.

9. Did Dhanush win a National Award this year?

Yes! Dhanush's directorial film Raayan won Best Tamil Film. He also received a Special Mention jury award for his acting in Captain Miller.

10. Which film won Best Choreography?

Vijay Ganguly won the Best Choreography award for the superhit movie Stree 2.

Final Thoughts on 72nd National Film Awards

To conclude, dosto, the 72nd National Film Awards proved one thing again: Indian cinema is growing rapidly in every direction. Whether it's high-budget VFX films like Kalki 2898 AD or deep, meaningful stories like Bramayugam and Article 370, our filmmakers are making us proud on the global map. Huge congratulations to all the winners!

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