Anant Nag Selected for Dadasaheb Phalke Award as 72nd National Film Awards Move to Ekta Nagar

Key facts

• The Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024 will be conferred on Shri Anant Nag, as announced by the Government of India on 16 September 2026.
• Anant Nag was born on 4 September 1948 in Karnataka, made his debut with the Kannada film 'Sankalpa' and the Hindi film 'Ankur', and has acted in over 300 films across six Indian languages, including the television series 'Malgudi Days'.
• Anant Nag has won five Filmfare Awards and five Karnataka State Best Actor Awards, and was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2025.
• The President of India will present the 72nd National Film Awards on 22 September 2026 at Ekta Nagar (formerly Kevadia) in Gujarat.
• The 72nd National Film Awards honour films certified in 2024, and the winners were announced on 18 July 2026 by the chairpersons of the three juries.
• Shri Jayaraj chaired the Feature Film Jury, Shri Aseem Sinha chaired the Non-Feature Film Jury, and Shri A. Chandrasekhar chaired the Best Writing on Cinema Jury for the 72nd National Film Awards.
• 'Article 370' won Best Feature Film, Yami Gautam won Best Actress for the same film, and Mammootty ('Bramayugam') and Kartik Aaryan ('Chandu Champion') shared the Best Actor award.
• Shri Rajkumar Periasamy won Best Direction for the Tamil film 'Amaran', 'Kalki 2898 AD' was named Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, and Randeep Hooda won Best Debut Film of a Director for 'Swatantrya Veer Savarkar'.
• 'Bhangaar' won Best Non-Feature Film, 'Ram-Nami' won Best Documentary, and the Santhali film 'Angen' directed by Ravi Raj Murmu won Best Debut Film of a Director (Non-Feature), the first time a Santhali film was honoured in that section.
• The National Film Awards were instituted in 1954 by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest honour in Indian cinema, was instituted in 1969 with Devika Rani as its first recipient.
• Shri Mohanlal received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2023, Shri Mithun Chakraborty for 2022, and Smt. Waheeda Rehman for 2021.
• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has decided to hold future editions of the National Film Awards in various parts of the country beyond the National Capital.