The filmmaker steered every question about his upcoming film back to the night's real business, as Article 370 swept Best Feature Film, Best Actress and Best Music Direction.
Aditya Dhar had one job on the red carpet Monday night and he stuck to it. Asked about Dhurandhar, the film everyone in the industry has been talking about for months, the director redirected without missing a beat. "We are here for Article 370, we will discuss Dhurandhar hopefully if we come next year also. But, today, it is all about Article 370," he said, according to a video shared by DeshGujarat.
Fair enough, given the occasion. Article 370, Dhar's 2024 political drama directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, walked away with three of the biggest honours at the 72nd National Film Awards. It won Best Feature Film. Yami Gautam, Dhar's wife and the film's lead, took Best Actress. And Shashwat Sachdev picked up Best Music Direction for the score.
Dhar showed up with Yami for what was clearly her evening as much as the film's. She called it the biggest validation an artist can get. "It feels great. We were just discussing, this is the biggest validation for any artist. I think it is the highest honour presented to you by your country," she said, adding that she was still processing it. "I am smiling, but from inside I am feeling like an energy of a newcomer for whom everything is so big, everything is so new and special."
It's her first National Film Award, and it comes on a film that has already had a strong run since release, so the sentiment tracks.
As for why Dhurandhar wasn't up for discussion in any official capacity, that's simple arithmetic. This year's National Film Awards cover work from the 2024 eligibility cycle, and Dhurandhar hasn't come out yet. If Dhar wants a shot at recognition for it, the earliest he can get one is next year's ceremony, and even that depends on when the film actually releases and how the eligibility window falls. Dhar's own phrasing, hoping to be back "next year also," suggests he's already thinking about that timeline.
The ceremony itself made news for reasons beyond who won what. Held on September 22 at Ekta Nagar in Kevadia, Gujarat, it was the first time the National Film Awards moved outside Delhi. That's a logistical shift worth noting on its own, red carpet politics aside.
For Dhar, the split focus of the evening was almost inevitable. He's sitting on what's being described as one of the biggest productions the Hindi film industry has attempted, and every camera pointed at him on a night meant to honour a different film was always going to ask about it anyway. He gave them one line and moved on.
Whether Dhurandhar actually makes it back to this stage next year now hinges on two things nobody controls from a red carpet: a release date, and whatever the jury decides once it does.
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