“Article 370,” starring Yami Gautam, won the best feature film award at the 72nd Indian National Film Awards, announced Saturday in New Delhi by the country’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Gautam also bagged the best actress award for her role in the film, a political drama focusing on the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. The best actor award was shared by Kartik Aaryan, winner of “Chandu Champion”, and Malayalam film star Mammootty, recognized for his performance in “Bramayugam”. Rajkumar Periasamy won the best director award for “Amaran”. The best supporting actress was shared by Sachana Namidass for “Maharaja” and Rapshree Varkady for “Mithya”.

Srikanth, starring Rajkummar Rao and directed by Tushar Hiranandani, won the best Hindi film award. Sanjay Mishra won the best supporting actor award for “Bhakshak”. Telugu language blockbuster “Kalki 2898 AD” was named best popular film offering wholesome entertainment.

The awards, which honor films certified by India’s Central Board of Film Certification during 2024, were decided by an 11-member jury chaired by Malayalam filmmaker Jayaraj, who was previously part of the National Film Awards panel in 2012. The jury watched nearly 400 feature films in 34 languages, including scheduled and non-scheduled languages.

Technical honors were shared among several major releases in 2024. Tamil hit “Amaran” also won best editing and shared best musical direction (feature film) with “Article 370,” whose music was composed by Shashwat Sachdev; GV Prakash Kumar was recognized for “Amaran”. “Pushpa 2: The Rule” won the award for best costume design, while “Kalki 2898 AD” also bagged the award for best production design. “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” bagged the best sound design award and “Lucky Baskhar” won the best screenplay award. Randeep Hooda received the award for best debut film director for “Swatantrya Veer Savarkar”.

In the non-feature film categories, “Ram-Naami” won the award for best documentary and “Main Nida” took home the award for best art and culture film. “Piplantri – A Tale of Eco Feminism” won for promoting social and environmental values, while “Touched as Water,” directed by Joshy Benedict for JB Productions, won best animated film. Filmmaker Anand L. Rai won the best director award in the non-feature category for “Statue of Unity – Ekta Ka Prateek”, and the Marathi film “Humsafar” won the best short film award.

Other non-film awards went to “NDA” (best editing), “Blue” (best sound design), “Life in Loom” (best cinematography) and “Parat 41°chya Magavar” (best musical direction). Faraz Ali won the best screenplay award for the Hindi-Kashmir short “Obur”, and Soundarya Jayachandran was honored for the narration of “Little Planet: A Tale of Frogs”. Sanjeev Srivastava won the best film critic award and Kenchanuru Pradeep Kumar Shetty bagged the best book award for his Kannada language work on the philosophy and politics of Kannada cinema.

Special mentions went to “Chola Dora aur Sui”, directed by Jaymin Modi and Lokesh Ghai, and the Malayalam film “Bhadra-Kali Natakam”, directed by Ananda Jyothi.