72nd National Film Awards: Mammootty, Kartik Aaryan, Yami Gautam adjudged best actors; full list of winners

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‘Article 370’ received the award for Best Feature Film while ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ bagged the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment

Updated - July 18, 2026 09:41 pm IST

While Mammotty and Kartik Aaryan shared the Best Actor (Male) Award, Yami Gautam won in the Best Actor for a Female Role category.

Mammootty, Kartik Aaryan and Yami Gautam bagged acting honours at the 72nd National Film Awards which were announced on Friday (July 18, 2026). The awards honour films that received certification from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) during the 2024 calendar year.

Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan shared the award for their performances in the Malayalam film, Bramayugam and the Hindi film, Chandu Champion, respectively. The award marked the fourth one for Mammootty, who has previously clinched it for Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha and Mathilukal (1989),Ponthan Mada and Vidheyan (1994) and Dr Ambedkar (1999).

On the other hand, Yami Gautam won the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the political action-thriller, Article 370.

Article 370 also won the award for Best Feature Film. Directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale and produced by Aditya Dhar, the film tells a fictional story of covert operations in the backdrop of the revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status in 2019. Shashwat Sachdeva also won the National Film Award for Best Music Director for the movie.

Meanwhile, Nag Ashwin’s mythological sci-fi actioner, Kalki 2898 AD won the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Its star-studded cast includes Amitabh Bachchan, Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Kamal Haasan and Disha Patani.

The Tamil film, Amaran, bagged the award for Best Direction. Rajkumar Periyasamy won the honours. The Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi starrer told the story of real-life hero Major Mukund Varadarajan, an officer in the Indian Army’s Rajput Regiment. He is remembered as a fearless leader who prioritised his team’s safety and well being.

Randeep Hooda’s Swatantrya Veer Savarkar received the honour for Best Debut Film of a director. The biographical drama tells the story of Hindutva idealogue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, exploring his early revolutionary activities and the torture he faced at the cellular jail. The film marks Hooda’s directorial debut. He also plays the titular role.

Tamil actor-filmmaker Dhanush got a special mention for his performance in the historical actioner, Captain Miller. Dhanush had won the Best Actor award for Aadukalam (2011) and Asuran (2019).

Allu Arjun’s starrer Pushpa 2: The Rule, directed by Sukumar, won two awards. Deepali Noor & Sheetal Sharma won the Best Costume Designer Award, and Sukumar was adjudged the winner in the Best Screenplay section.

Actor Sanjay Mishra bagged the honour of Best Supporting Actor for his role in Bhumi Pednekar’s Bhakshak, where he plays a loyal and seasoned cameraman, working alongside investigative journalist Vaishali Singh (Pednekar).

Here is the full list of awards:

Special mentions: Suren G (II Meiyazhagan), Actor: Dhanush (Captain Miller),

Best Garhwali Film: Dholi

Best Telugu Film: Committee Kurrollu

Best Manipuri Film: Sunita

Best Marathi Film: Mukkham Post Bombilwadi

Best Malayalam Film: Feminichi Fathima

Best Kannada Film: Mithya

Best Hindi Film: Srikanth

Best Gujarati Film: Maaran

Best Bengali Film: Chalchithra Ekhon

Best Assamese Film: Juiphool

Best Konkani Film: Mog Asum

Best Action Direction: Ani Arasu (Maharaja)

Best Choreography: Vijay Ganguly (Stree 2)

Best Lyrics: Manoj Muntashir (Jaane Do - Maidaan)

Best Music Direction: GV Prakash Kumar (Amaran), Shaswat Sachdev (Article 370)

Best Makeup: P Ravi Kumar (Committee Kurrolu)

Best Costume Design: Deepali Noor, Sheetal Sharma (Pushpa 2)

Best Production Design: Nitin Zihan Choudhary (Kalki 2898 AD)

Best Editing: R Kalaivannan (Amaran)

Best Sound Design: Manas Choudhury (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3)

Best Dialogues: Venky Atluri (Lucky Baskhar)

Best Screenplay: Yogesh Deshpande (Swargandharva Sudhir Phadke), Bandireddi Sukumar (Pushpa 2)

Best Cinematography: Shehnad Jalal (Bramayugam)

Best Playback Singer: Vaikom Vijayalakshmi (ARM - Angu Vaana Konilu), Abhay Jodhpurkar (Gharat Ganpati - Navsachi Gauri Mazi)

Best Child Artist: Riddhiman Banerjee, Topomoy Deb, Gitashree Chakraborty (Onko Ki Kothin), Arundev Pothula (35 – Chinna Katha Kaadu), Athish S Shetty (Mithya)