For as long as most of us can remember, the National Film Awards happened at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi. That changes this year. The 72nd edition will be held in Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, Gujarat, on September 22, 2026, according to an official announcement made on Monday.

It's not a small shift. This is a ceremony that has stayed put in the capital for decades, and moving it to a new state is the kind of decision that invites questions. Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia asked exactly that on X.

"I have no particular love lost for Delhi hosting the National Film Awards, but I question the shift to Gujarat. Why Gujarat?" he wrote. He followed it up with a longer post pushing back on the location itself, not the idea of moving the ceremony out of Delhi. "Why are you breaking the tradition of presenting the award in another city/state - then why not give that honor to a state that has contributed to cinema? Like Maharashtra or Kerala or Tamil Nadu. Even a city like Hyderabad. Why go to Gujarat?"

His point, is about where Indian cinema actually gets made. Mumbai and the southern industries carry most of the volume and most of the box office. Gujarat, in his framing, doesn't have that pedigree, and he's not alone in raising the question.

The replies on X went both ways, and some got heated fast. One user defended the venue on its own merits: "Just go and search the location of Ekta Nagar, Gujarat. This is very beautiful location, don't bring your politics here. First visit that locality." Another sided with Dholakia's argument almost word for word. "The entire film buzz is in Mumbai plus south India. The revenue flows from here. What on earth has Gujarat contributed for them to get a chance before these cities/locations?" A third comment veered into outright regional mockery, which tells you how quickly this kind of thread stops being about awards and starts being about everything else.

Whatever the online back-and-forth, the ceremony itself carries a heavyweight guest list this year. Kartik Aaryan and Yami Gautam are set to collect Best Actor and Best Actress honours, alongside Mammootty in the Best Actor category. Aditya Dhar's film takes the Best Film award, Rajkumar Periasamy is up for Best Director, and Randeep Hooda has the Best Debut Film of a Director trophy. All of them are expected in Kevadia on the 22nd, assuming schedules hold.

Whether this becomes the new normal for the ceremony or a one-off tied to this particular anniversary year is still unclear. Nobody's said whether Delhi gets Vigyan Bhawan back next year, and that's the question that actually matters once the September 22 event wraps.