New Delhi, Sept. 23 -- From power couple Yami Gautam and Aditya Dhar twinning in black as they collected National Awards for 'Article 370' to Kartik Aaryan seeking blessings at Mumbai's iconic Lalbaugcha Raja a day after winning his first National Award for 'Chandu Champion', the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony had several memorable moments. Hosted for the first time at Gujarat's Ekta Nagar in Narmada district, the ceremony saw President Droupadi Murmu confer the National Film Awards at the Statue of Unity on Tuesday.
A day after winning his first National Award for 'Chandu Champion', Kartik visited Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai on Wednesday to seek Ganapati's blessings. The actor touched the idol's feet with his National Award in hand. Sharing a picture from the visit, he wrote, "My Sukh-karta dukh-harta. Blessed beyond words. Thank you, bappa!!"
Meanwhile, Yami, who won 'Best Actress in a Leading Role' for 'Article 370' and her husband Aditya Dhar, who received the 'Best Film' award as producer of the film, twinned in black for the occasion. Yami, dressed in a black saree with a golden zari border, told the media, "This is the biggest validation an artist can receive. I don't think I will ever be able to express how I'm feeling right now. I'm still trying to soak it in."
Legendary Kannada actor Anant Nag was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the country's highest honour in the field of cinema. Over a career spanning five decades, Nag has featured in more than 300 films. The 72nd National Film Awards, celebrating the finest of Indian cinema in 2024, also saw Malayalam superstar Mammootty win his fourth National Film Award for 'Best Actor' for his performance in 'Bramayugam'. The veteran actor received a standing ovation at the ceremony. With the win, Mammootty has equalled Amitabh Bachchan's record for the most National Film Awards in the 'Best Actor' category.
Rajkumar Periasamy received the 'Best Director' award for 'Amaran', while Sanjay Mishra ('Bhakshak'), Sachana Namidass ('Maharaja') and Ropashree Varkady ('Mithya') were honoured in the 'Best Supporting Actor' categories.
Arun Matheswaran's 'Captain Miller' won the award for 'Best Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values'. Randeep Hooda received the National Film Award for 'Best Debut Film of a Director' for 'Swatantrya Veer Savarkar', while Nag Ashwin's 'Kalki 2898 AD' was named 'Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment'.
Dhanush had another moment of recognition as he received his second honour of the night, the National Film Award for 'Best Tamil Feature Film' for his directorial 'Raayan'.
Bengal, too, had several reasons to celebrate. Kolkata-born Vijay Ganguly, brother of actor Rupali Ganguly, won the 'Best Choreography' award for the blockbuster 'Stree 2'. Riddhiman Banerjee, Tapomoy Deb and Gitashree Chakraborty jointly won the 'Best Child Artist' award for their performances in Sourav Palodhi's 'Onko Ki Kothin'. Filmmaker Anjan Dutta, who marked the centenary of legendary filmmaker Mrinal Sen through 'Chaalchitra Ekhon', was honoured with the award for 'Best Bengali Film'. His son, Neel Dutt, who produced the film, accepted the honour alongside him.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.