India’s highest film honour isn’t the one most people can name. It isn’t Filmfare. It’s a government medal, first awarded the very same year as Filmfare, in 1954.
Must Know
- The National Film Awards are India’s official, government-given film honours.
- They were first presented in 1954, honouring films released in 1953. They were originally called the State Awards for Films.
- Winners receive one of two medals: Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) for top categories, or Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus) for the rest.
- Categories span three divisions: Feature Films, Non-Feature Films, and Writing on Cinema.
- The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, for lifetime contribution to cinema, is given alongside these each year. It is India’s highest honour in the field.
- The President of India presents all these awards, each year, in New Delhi.
- Since 2023, the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) has administered the awards.
Good to Know
- The 1st National Film Awards, in 1954, had only 3 categories: Feature Films, Documentaries, and Children’s Films.
- Shyamchi Aai, a Marathi film directed by P.K. Atre, won the very first Best Feature Film award.
- The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was instituted in 1969. Its first recipient, that same year, was Devika Rani, known as the “First Lady of Indian Cinema.”
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients get a Swarna Kamal, a shawl, and a cash prize.
- From 1974 to 2022, the Directorate of Film Festivals administered the awards. The NFDC took over in 2023.
- Over 100 films are typically entered in the Feature Film category alone, each year, judged by an independent jury.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
- Don’t confuse the National Film Awards with Filmfare Awards. The National Film Awards are a government honour, judged by an official jury. Filmfare is a private, media-industry award, run by a magazine, and decided partly by popular vote.
- A live orphaned question on this site once claimed the awards were “initiated in 1953.” That’s the year of the winning film, not the year of the ceremony — the 1st National Film Awards were presented on 10 October 1954. It’s been corrected.
- The two-medal system, Swarna Kamal for top honours and Rajat Kamal for the rest, has stayed unchanged even as the number of categories has grown past 30.
Current Affairs
- The 72nd National Film Awards were announced on 18 July 2026, honouring films released in 2024.
- Article 370 won Best Feature Film. Kalki 2898 AD won Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
- Kartik Aaryan and Mammootty shared Best Actor in a Leading Role. Yami Gautam won Best Actress, for Article 370.
- Srikanth was named 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. Full coverage: CA0073 — National Film Awards 2026.
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