72nd National Film Awards: Mammootty bags fourth National Award, shares Best Actor honour with Kartik Aaryan

Veteran actor Mammootty won the Best Actor award for his critically-acclaimed performance in 'Bramayugam,' sharing the honour with Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan, who was recognised for his performance in 'Chandu Champion.' Yami Gautham was adjudged the Best Actress for her work in 'Article 370' directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale.

The Tamil film 'Amaran' starring Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi also won big at the National Awards, winning Best Director for Rajkumar Periasamy, Best Music by G V Prakash Kumar, and Best Editing for R Kalaivanan.

The winners of the 72nd National Film Awards were announced in New Delhi on Saturday. The awards, held annually, honour the best films in both the feature and non-feature categories. 

Fasil Muhammed's 'Feminichi Fathima' won Best Malayalam Film in the feature films category. 'Meiyazhagan' sound mixer Suren received a Special Mention, while Dhanush was honoured with a Special Mention for his performance in 'Captain Miller'. His directorial venture 'Raayan' was also named Best Tamil Film.

'Article 370' won the National Award for Best Feature Film. 'Kalki 2898 AD' was honoured as the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, while Telugu blockbuster 'Pushpa 2: The Rule,' written by Sukumar, received the award for Best Original Screenplay. Telugu film 'Lucky Bhaskar' featuring Dulquer Salmaan received the award for Best Screenplay (Dialogue).

Meanwhile, Malayalam playback singer Vaikom Vijayalakshmi won her maiden National Film Award for her soulful rendition of Angu Vaana Konilu from the Tovino Thomas-starrer 'Ajayante Randam Moshanam (ARM).'

In the non-feature category, two films have received Special Jury Mentions: the Hindi film 'Chola Dora Aur Sui' and the Malayalam film 'Bhadra Kali Nataka', directed by Ananda Jyothi.

Mollywood filmmaker Jayaraj, who was the jury chairperson in the Feature Films category, announced the winners. Jayaraj said this year's entries featured several award-worthy films, highlighting how a new generation of filmmakers is boldly experimenting with diverse and unconventional subjects.

Films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) during the 2024 calendar year were considered for this year's awards. Malayalam films such as 'Bramayugam,' 'Kishkindha Kaandam,' and 'Manjummel Boys' were among the strong contenders in the Malayalam film category.