National Film Awards

Think of the National Film Awards as India’s official report card for cinema. The government gives them, and an expert jury picks the winners.

What do winners get?

• The National Film Awards are India’s official, government-given film honours.
• They were first given in 1954, for films released in 1953. They began as the State Awards for Films.
• Top winners get a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus). The rest get a Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus).
• Every winner also gets a medallion, a cash prize and a certificate.
• There are three sections: Feature Films, Non-Feature Films and Writing on Cinema (National Film Awards).

Who hands them out?

• The President of India presents the awards.
• The ceremony is usually held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.
• In 2026, it moved to Ekta Nagar (Kevadia), Gujarat, near the Statue of Unity.
• The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is given at the same ceremony each year. It is India’s highest film honour.

The awards started small. They had just three categories and one gold medal for each.

What happened at the first ceremony?

• The 1st National Film Awards were held on 10 October 1954 at Vigyan Bhavan.
• President Rajendra Prasad gave away the awards.
• There were only 3 categories: Feature Films, Documentaries and Children’s Films.
• The Marathi film Shyamchi Aai, directed by P.K. Atre, won the first Best Feature Film award (1st National Film Awards).

When did the Phalke Award start?

• The Dadasaheb Phalke Award began in 1969.
• It is named after Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema. He made India’s first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913).
• Its first winner was Devika Rani, called the “First Lady of Indian Cinema.”
• The winner gets a Swarna Kamal, a shawl and a cash prize (Dadasaheb Phalke Award).

Watch the year. The award is named for the year it honours, not the year it is handed over.

Who runs the awards?

• From 1974 to 2022, the Directorate of Film Festivals ran the awards.
• Since 2023, the NFDC has run them.
• Over 100 films are entered in each main category every year. An independent jury judges them (National Film Awards).

Both awards started in 1954. That is why people mix them up. But they work very differently.

Government award or magazine award?

• The National Film Awards are a government honour. An official jury decides the winners.
• Filmfare is a private award, run by a film magazine. Readers’ votes help decide some of its winners (Filmfare Awards).
• Filmfare mainly honours Hindi cinema. The National Film Awards cover films in many Indian languages.

1953 or 1954?

• Some quiz questions say the awards “began in 1953.” That is a trap.
• 1953 is the year of the films. The first ceremony was on 10 October 1954.
• The two-medal system has not changed. Today there are well past 30 award categories, yet only Swarna Kamal and Rajat Kamal are given.

Who won the 72nd awards?

• The 72nd National Film Awards were announced on 18 July 2026. They honour films of 2024.
• Article 370 won Best Feature Film. Kalki 2898 AD won Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
• Kartik Aaryan (Chandu Champion) and Mammootty (Bramayugam) shared Best Actor.
• Yami Gautam won Best Actress, for Article 370.
• Srikanth won Best Hindi Film. Rajkumar Periasamy won Best Director, for the Tamil film Amaran.
• Randeep Hooda won Best Debut Film of a Director, for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar (72nd National Film Awards).

Anant Nag gets the Phalke Award

• On 22 September 2026, President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat.
• Kannada actor Anant Nag received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024. His film career spans over five decades.
• In all, 92 awardees were honoured that day.
• The Marathi film Bhangaar won Best Non-Feature Film (Akashvani News).
• The government first announced the Phalke choice on 16 September 2026.