72nd National Film Awards 2026 HIGHLIGHTS: Tamil cinema shines with wins for Raayan, Amaran, Captain Miller

"We submitted the film for awards last year and we were told that it would be announced next year. After a few delays we stopped following it and when the announcement was made today the entire team feels happy about it. We are happy."

— Rajkumar Periasamy, director of Amaran, to DT Next after the film won multiple National Film Awards.

"I am doing the post production work for my next film DC and this feels overwhelming. I never knew that the film won the National Award for Best Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values. We make a film believing that it would reach a larger audience upon its release. But Captain Miller didn't commercially go the way we wanted it to be when it released. But the recognition we have been receiving now shows that the effort is totally worth it. Also, congratulations to Dhanush sir because he put in a lot of effort for this movie."

Arun Matheswaran - Director, Captain Miller to DT Next

Article 370 wins Best Feature Film. Directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale and produced by Jio Studios and B62 Studios.

Kalki 2898 AD wins Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Directed by Nag Ashwin and produced by Vyjayanthi Movies.

Captain Miller wins Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values.

35 Chinna Katha Kaadu (Telugu) wins Best Children's Film.

Rajkumar Periasamy wins Best Director for Amaran.

Kartik Aaryan (Chandu Champion) and Mammootty (Bramayugam) share the Best Actor award.

Yami Gautam wins Best Actress for Article 370.

Vaikom Vijayalakshmi wins Best Female Playback Singer for Angu Vaana Konilu from the film ARM (Malayalam)

Shehnad Jalal wins Best Cinematography for Bramayugam.

Bandreddi Sukumar wins Best Original Screenplay for Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2.

Venky Atluri wins Best Screenplay (Dialogue) for Lucky Bhaskar.

K Kalaivanan wins Best Editing for Amaran.

Nitin Zihani Choudhary wins Best Production Design for Kalki 2898 AD.

Deepali Noor and Sheetal Sharma win Best Costume Designer for Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2.

Anil Arasu wins the Best Action Direction award for his stunt choreography in Maharaja.

Maharaja wins the award for Best Action Direction.

GV Prakash Kumar wins the National Award for Best Music Direction for 'Amaran'.

Best Tamil Film honour goes to Dhanush's 'Raayan' at the 72nd National Film Awards.