President Droupadi Murmu presented the 72nd National Film Awards at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat on September 22, the first time in the awards’ more than 70-year history that the ceremony was held outside Delhi.
An awards ceremony’s venue is rarely just logistics. Holding it in the national capital for seven decades made Delhi part of the ceremony’s identity, so moving it to Ekta Nagar, home to the Statue of Unity, is a visible break from that pattern.
The choice of location also carries its own message, tying a national cinema award to a site built around a specific historical figure and a specific state’s civic infrastructure, rather than the traditional government-building setting.
The winners list itself spans a wide range: a political drama in Article 370, a horror film in Bramayugam, a sports biopic in Chandu Champion, and a directorial debut from an actor better known for performing. That breadth is fairly typical of the National Film Awards, which cover many genres and languages in a single ceremony.
For an industry that pays close attention to where and how it is recognised, a first-time change of venue is likely to be read as a signal about how future ceremonies might be organised, regardless of the specific winners this year.
Bhangaar won the Best Non-Feature Film award.
Ram-Nami was selected as the Best Documentary.
Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024, the highest honour in Indian cinema.
President Murmu felicitated a total of 92 winners at the ceremony.
The National Film Awards are given annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, part of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Holding the ceremony at Ekta Nagar, home to the Statue of Unity, marked a departure from the awards’ traditional Delhi venue.
The Gujarat Chief Minister was among those who joined President Murmu at the ceremony.
Statue of Unity, Ekta Nagar, Gujarat (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0