Article 370 wins Best Feature Film at 72nd National Film Awards in Ekta Nagar
Director Aditya Suhas Jambhale’s Article 370 won the Best Feature Film award at the 72nd National Film Awards, with President Droupadi Murmu presenting the honour at the awards ceremony in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat, on Tuesday, September 22. The film was among the major winners at this year’s ceremony, which recognised achievements in Indian cinema for 2024. The event, held near the Statue of Unity, also marked the first time in decades that the National Film Awards ceremony was hosted outside New Delhi.
Released in February 2024, Article 370 is a political thriller built around the events leading up to and following the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. The film follows intelligence officer Zooni Haksar, played by Yami Gautam, as she becomes involved in a covert operation in Kashmir before the government moves ahead with the constitutional change. Priyamani plays Rajeshwari Swaminathan, a PMO official involved in the larger operation.
Rather than presenting the events as a documentary reconstruction, Article 370 uses fictional characters and dramatised sequences to tell its story. The narrative moves between intelligence operations in Kashmir and the decision-making taking place in Delhi, bringing together the security and political sides of the events. The film’s central storyline therefore uses a fictionalised perspective to dramatise a significant political development in contemporary India.
The film’s technical and production choices were also central to its presentation of the story. The narrative moves between action sequences, intelligence-gathering operations and scenes involving government officials, giving the film the structure of a political thriller rather than a conventional historical drama. Yami’s Zooni functions as the principal character through whom much of the operation is seen, while Priyamani’s Rajeshwari represents the administrative and political side of the mission.
The Best Feature Film award is not the only National Film Award recognition for Article 370. Yami Gautam was named Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the film, while Shashwat Sachdev won Best Music Direction (Songs). The film consequently emerged as one of the most prominent winners among the 2024 releases recognised at the 72nd National Film Awards.
The film had also been the subject of debate around its treatment of the events it depicts. Its story is presented from the perspective of intelligence and government officials, and several characters and sequences are fictionalised for dramatic purposes.
The 72nd National Film Awards also recognised several other major 2024 releases. Mammootty and Kartik Aaryan shared the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for Bramayugam and Chandu Champion, respectively. Rajkumar Periasamy won Best Director for Amaran, while Kalki 2898 AD was named Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Randeep Hooda won Best Debut Film of a Director for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar.
The ceremony itself marked a change in the long-standing National Film Awards tradition. Ekta Nagar in Gujarat became the venue for this year’s event instead of New Delhi, with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting planning to take future editions to different states and cities. A total of 92 winners are being honoured at the 72nd edition, which covers films certified during 2024 across feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema.
For Article 370, the Best Feature Film honour adds another recognition to a film that became one of the notable Hindi releases of 2024. The film’s cast and crew now leave the National Film Awards with multiple honours, with Yami Gautam’s Best Actress win and Shashwat Sachdev’s music award coming alongside the film’s top prize.- EndsPublished By: Anurag BohraPublished On: Sep 22, 2026 17:31 ISTRead more | 'Article 370' teaser out: Yami Gautam tackles terrorism in Kashmir
