Films dealing with themes aligned with some of the BJP’s key political positions emerged among the winners at the 72^nd National Film Awards for 2024, with “Article 370” winning three awards, including Best Feature Film and Best Actress.

The film revolves around the abrogation of Article 370, a move that has been a longstanding political issue for the BJP, dating back to the days of Syama Prasad Mookerjee and his slogan, ‘ek Desh mein two Vidhan do Samvidhan do Nishan nahi chalenge’.

Meanwhile, Randeep Hooda’s “Swatantrya Veer Savarkar” won the award for Best Debut Film of a Director.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry announced the winners of the 72^nd National Film Awards on Saturday. The awards were presented to films that received certification from the Central Board of Film Certification between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024.

Yami Gautam won the Best Actress award for the Hindi film “Article 370”. The Best Actor award was shared by Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan for their performances in “Bramayugam” (Malayalam) and “Chandu Champion” (Hindi), respectively. Sanjay Mishra won the Best Supporting Actor award for the Hindi film “Bhakshak”, while Sachana Namidass won Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the Tamil film “Maharaja”.

“Srikanth” was named Best Hindi Feature Film, while Telugu film “Kalki 2898 AD” won the award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. “Article 370” also won the Best Music Direction award for Shashwat Sachdev.

“Amaran”, “Pushpa: The Rule Part-02”, “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3” and “Stree 2” also won major honours. Tamil film “Captain Miller” was adjudged the Best Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values.

Announcing the 72^nd National Film Awards, jury member and Malayalam filmmaker Jayaraj said, “Around 400 feature films in 34 languages, including scheduled and non-scheduled languages, were considered. It was a huge task because many young filmmakers came up with different experiments and fresh visions. It was quite hectic, but I believe we have done justice.”