Malayalam superstar Mammootty shares the Best Actor award with Kartik Aaryan, while Dhanush earns a Special Mention and directs the Best Tamil Film
The 72nd National Film Awards were announced in New Delhi on July 18. Malayalam superstar Mammootty won Best Actor for his brilliant performance in Bramayugam. He shared the award with Kartik Aaryan for Chandu Champion. Actor Dhanush won a Special Mention for his performance in director Arun Matheswaran’s Captain Miller. He was also recognised as director, with his directorial venture, Raayan, winning the Best Tamil Film award.
Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2: The Rule won in two categories: for Best Screenplay and Best Costume Designer. Director Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD, starring Prabhas, Kamal Haasan and Amitabh Bachchan, won Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Dhanush-starrer Captain Miller bagged Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values.
Complete List of Winners from the South
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Kartik Aaryan (Chandu Champion) and Mammootty (Bramayugam) |
| Best Actress in Supporting Role | Ropashree Varkady (Mithya) and Sachana Namidass (Maharaja) |
| Best Direction | Rajkumar Periasamy (Amaran) |
| Special Mention | Actor Dhanush (Captain Miller) |
| Special Mention | Sound engineer Suren (Meiyazhagan) |
| Best Telugu Film | Committee Kurrollu |
| Best Tamil Film | Raayan |
| Best Malayalam Film | Feminichi Fathima |
| Best Kannada Film | Mithya |
| Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values | Captain Miller |
| Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment | Kalki 2898 AD |
| Best Action Direction | Anl Arasu (Maharaja) |
| Best Music Direction for Background Music | GV Prakash Kumar (Amaran) |
| Best Make-up | P Ravi Kumar (Committee Kurrollu) |
| Best Costume Designer | Deepali Noor and Sheetal Sharma (Pushpa 2: The Rule) |
| Best Production Designer | Nitin Zihani Choudhary (Kalki 2898 AD) |
| Best Editing | R Kalaivanan (Amaran) |
| Best Dialogue Writer | Venky Atluri (Lucky Baskhar) |
| Best Original Screenplay | Dandreddi Sukumar (Pushpa 2: The Rule) |
| Best Cinematography | Shehnad Jalal (Bramayugam) |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Vaikom Vijayalakshmi (Angu Vaana Konilu from ARM) |
| Best Child Artist (Kannada) | Arundev Pothula (35-Chinna Katha Kaadu) and Athish S Shetty (Mithya) |
| Best Children’s Film | 35 – Chinna Katha Kaadu |
About the Awards
Filmmaker Jayaraj announced the winners for the 72nd National Film Awards in the Feature Film category. Nearly 400 films which were released between January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024, were eligible for the awards.
