'Article 370' Wins Best Film at India's 72nd National Film Awards
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- "Article 370" won best feature film at India's 72nd National Film Awards, announced Saturday in New Delhi by the country's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
- Yami Gautam also took best actress for her role in the film, a political drama centered on the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Kartik Aaryan and Mammootty shared the best actor prize, honored for "Chandu Champion" and "Bramayugam" respectively.
- Rajkumar Periasamy won best director for "Amaran," which also picked up best editing and shared best music direction with "Article 370" (score by Shashwat Sachdev).
- An 11-member jury chaired by Malayalam filmmaker Jayaraj viewed close to 400 feature films across 34 languages, honoring films certified by India's Central Board of Film Certification during 2024.
- "Kalki 2898 AD" was named best popular film providing wholesome entertainment and also claimed best production design, while "Pushpa 2: The Rule" won best costume design and "Bhakshak" earned Sanjay Mishra the best supporting actor prize.
Why it matters: The state-administered National Film Awards carry outsized cultural weight in India, and "Article 370" sweeping best feature and best actress amounts to official validation of a film that dramatizes the government's 2019 revocation of Kashmir's special constitutional status — a politically charged choice that will amplify the film's reach inside India's polarized discourse.
