President Droupadi Murmu handed the lifetime honour to the veteran Kannada star as the ceremony shifted from Delhi to Ekta Nagar, with Malayalam talent also making a strong showing.
Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag walked onto the stage in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, and received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award from President Droupadi Murmu. The honour, the highest for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema, capped a ceremony that broke tradition by leaving New Delhi for the first time.
The shift to the Narmada‑border town was part of a broader effort to decentralise the awards, a move that surprised many industry insiders. While the venue change grabbed headlines, the night’s real drama unfolded in the roll‑call of winners across languages.
Malayalam cinema stole the spotlight with playback singer Vaikom Vijayalakshmi clinching Best Female Playback Singer for her haunting rendition in the film ARM. Director Fasil Mohammed, behind the critically‑acclaimed Feminichi Fathima, also walked away with a trophy, underscoring Kerala’s growing clout at the national level.
Hindi‑language film Article 370 emerged as the night’s biggest multi‑category winner. It scooped Best Feature Film, while Yami Gautam took home Best Actress for her lead role. Composer Shashwat Sachdev added Best Music Direction to the film’s haul, making it a three‑award sweep.
In the acting categories, Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan shared Best Actor in a Leading Role – Mammootty for Bramayugam and Aaryan for Chandu Champion. Sanjay Mishra earned Best Supporting Actor for his turn in Bhakshak, and Sachana Namidass was named Best Supporting Actress for the Tamil drama Maharaja. Kannada actress Ropashree Varkady also secured a Supporting Actress award for Mithya.
Randeep Hooda, now wearing the director’s hat, was recognised as Best Debut Director for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar. Rajkumar Periasamy took home Best Direction for the Tamil venture Amaran, while R Kalaivannan’s editing on the same film earned a separate accolade. G V Prakash Kumar’s background score for Amaran also featured among the winners.
Technical categories saw Pushpa: The Rule Part‑02 dominate costume design, and its helmer Bandreddi Sukumar bagged Best Screenplay. Manoj Muntashir’s lyric ‘Jaane Do’ from Maidaan won Best Lyrics, and Vijay Ganguly’s choreography for ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ from Stree 2 earned him the Best Choreography trophy.
The non‑feature segment was represented by Bhangaar, a project both directed and produced by Sumira Roy, which claimed the top honour in its category. In the critics’ arena, Sanjeev Shrivastava was named Best Film Critic for Hindi.
The ceremony closed on a regional note, with Maaran taking Best Gujarati Film and Gharat Ganpati’s Abhay Jodhpurkar winning Best Male Playback Singer for a Marathi track. The diverse roster of winners highlighted the increasingly pan‑Indian nature of the awards, a trend that may influence future productions and distribution strategies.
As the film fraternity disperses back to their respective hubs, the next question on everyone’s lips is whether the Gujarat experiment will become permanent, and how the new geography might affect the awards’ prestige in years to come.
What’s Next?
The 73rd edition is slated for early 2028, with organisers already hinting at a possible rotation of venues. For now, Anant Nag’s moment on the Gujarat stage will be replayed in industry circles for weeks to come.
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