New Delhi had a certain buzz to it on Saturday, July 18, 2026. Inside the National Media Centre, cameras clicked, journalists scribbled notes, and a jury of eleven, led by veteran filmmaker Jayaraj, finally put an end to weeks of speculation. The 72nd National Film Awards had arrived, and honestly, it turned out to be one of the more memorable years in recent memory.
If you've been even loosely following Bollywood or regional film Twitter these past couple weeks, you probably already knew the ceremony had been pushed back. That delay only fed the anticipation, and when the results finally dropped, they didn't disappoint. A political thriller swept the top prize. Two of the country's most respected actors ended up sharing the same trophy. And South Indian cinema, once again, made it clear it's not playing second fiddle to Bollywood anymore — a lot of the time, it's leading.
So let's get into it. What actually happened, who won what, and why so many people are calling this one of the most competitive years the awards have seen in a while.
National Film Awards 2026 Highlights
There wasn't much suspense by the end of the night about which film would take the top honor. Article 370, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, won Best Feature Film. The movie dramatizes the political maneuvering behind the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir — real, still-touchy history, wrapped into a tense thriller centered on an intelligence officer trying to navigate the region's volatile security situation.
Essential Administrative Data
- Awarding Body: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
- Jury Chair: Filmmaker Jayaraj (11-member panel)
- Announcement Date: July 18, 2026, New Delhi
- Eligibility Window: Films certified by the CBFC between January 1 and December 3, 2024
- Total Entries: 161 films across 24 languages
- Total Categories: 16
Key Trends and High Performers
Article 370 basically ran the table — it didn't just win Best Feature Film, it also picked up recognition for its music direction and acting. Pulling off a politically loaded subject without collapsing into either propaganda or a dry history lesson isn't easy, and the jury clearly felt the film threaded that needle. Meanwhile, Tamil cinema had one of its strongest outings in years, with Dhanush's Raayan and Captain Miller both picking up multiple honors.
The Best Actor Tie Everyone's Talking About
Here's the story people are going to keep bringing up for a while: Best Actor ended in a tie.
Mammootty won for Bramayugam — people are describing the performance as haunting and unusually restrained, a real departure even for an actor with a four-decade r├йsum├й full of range. It's his fourth National Award, at this point almost a formality given his career, but the specifics of this particular role are what people keep pointing to.
Sharing the honor: Kartik Aaryan, recognized for playing Murlikant Petkar, India's first Paralympic gold medalist, in Chandu Champion. This is an actor who built his name on breezy urban rom-coms, so watching him go this physical and this emotionally heavy is the kind of pivot that tends to get noticed. Winning a National Award for it is about as loud a validation as the industry offers.
Why the Tie Matters: Ties aren't unheard of at the National Film Awards, but they always spark debate, mostly because you're forced to compare two performances that couldn't be more different — a veteran going quiet and internal in a period horror film versus a younger star throwing his whole body into a biopic. Apparently both impressed the jury enough that nobody wanted to pick just one.
Complete Winners List
Feature Films
- Best Feature Film: Article 370 — Aditya Suhas Jambhale
- Best Debut Film of a Director: Randeep Hooda, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar
- Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Kalki 2898 AD — Nag Ashwin
- Best Film Promoting National, Social & Environmental Values: Captain Miller
Acting
- Best Actor: Kartik Aaryan (Chandu Champion) & Mammootty (Bramayugam)
- Best Actress: Yami Gautam (Article 370)
- Best Supporting Actor: Sanjay Mishra (Bhakshak)
- Best Supporting Actress: Rupashree Varkadi (Mithya) & a shared honor for Maharaja
- Best Child Artist: Shared between a performer from 35 Chinna Katha Kaadu and two performers from Aankhon Ki Gustaakhiyan
Direction & Writing
- Best Director: Rajkumar Periasamy (Amaran)
- Best Screenplay: Sukumar (Pushpa 2)
- Best Dialogue Writer: Venky Atluri (Lucky Baskhar)
Music & Technical
- Best Music Direction (Songs): Shashwat Sachdev (Article 370)
- Best Lyrics: Manoj Muntashir — "Jaane Do" (Maidaan)
- Editing: R. Kalaivannan
Non-Feature & Documentary
- Best Direction (Non-Feature): Aanand L. Rai (Statue of Unity: Ekta Ka Prateek)
- Best Documentary: Ram-Nami — Dir. Bharatbala Ganapathy
- Best Arts/Culture Film: Main Nida — Dir. Atul Pandey
- Special Mentions: Chola Dora aur Sui; Bhadra-Kali Natakam; Meiyazhagan (sound mixing); Captain Miller (Dhanush)
Regional Cinema Performance
If there's one overarching theme this year, it's the strength of South Indian cinema — and that's been building for a while now, but this year it felt less like a trend and more like a statement. Dhanush had, by any measure, a huge night: his directorial effort Raayan, which he also starred in, won Best Tamil Film, while Captain Miller earned him two more honors.
| Language | Winning Film |
|---|---|
| Tamil | Raayan |
| Malayalam | Feminichi Fathima |
| Telugu | Committee Kurrollu |
| Hindi | Article 370 |
| Kannada | Mithya |
| Marathi | Mukkam Post Bombilwadi |
Why These Awards Matter
Worth stepping back for a second on why these awards still carry weight in an industry that's increasingly obsessed with opening weekend numbers and streaming charts. Unlike the commercial or fan-voted shows that flood the entertainment news cycle all year, the National Film Awards come from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, judged by filmmakers and industry veterans rather than popular vote or box office.
A Note on What the Award Actually Signals: A film can flop commercially and still win here if the jury thinks it did something meaningful artistically or technically — and a box office giant doesn't automatically get a trophy just because it made money. For winners, that credibility tends to stick for the rest of their careers.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Who won Best Actor at the National Film Awards 2026?
It was a tie — Kartik Aaryan for Chandu Champion and Mammootty for Bramayugam.
2. Which film won Best Feature Film?
Article 370, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, was declared Best Feature Film.
3. How are the winners selected?
Winners are chosen by an 11-member jury of prominent filmmakers and cinema experts, headed by Jayaraj, who evaluate entries submitted from across India's film industries.
4. How many films competed this year?
A total of 161 films across 24 languages competed across 16 categories.
5. Who won Best Actress?
Yami Gautam, for her performance in Article 370.
6. Where can I find the official, complete list?
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's official channels and PIB India's platforms carried the full announcement — that's the best place to check for updates or amendments.