November 14: With the International Film Festival of India opening in Goa on November 20, here is how cinema in five major regional languages, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati and Odia, fared at the 72nd National Film Awards, the latest edition, announced on July 18, 2026 for films of 2024. Marathi-language films won six awards, the most of the five, including Best Marathi Film for Paresh Mokashi’s Mukkam Post Bombilwadi and the top non-feature prize for Bhangaar.
Key highlights
- Marathi: 6 awards, including Best Marathi Film (Mukkam Post Bombilwadi) and Best Non-Feature Film (Bhangaar, in Marathi and English).
- Bengali: Best Bengali Film for Anjan Dutt’s Chalchitra Ekhon, and a share of Best Child Artist for Onko Ki Kothin.
- Assamese: Best Assamese Film for Jadumoni Dutta’s Juiphool.
- Gujarati: Best Gujarati Film for Abhishek Jain’s Maaran.
- Odia: Best Odia Film for Amartya Bhattacharyya’s Lahari.
- Prize: each best-language film receives the Rajat Kamal and ₹2 lakh.
Best film in each language
| Language | Best film | Director | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marathi | Mukkam Post Bombilwadi | Paresh Mokashi | Vivek Films, Mayasabha Karamanuk Mandali LLP |
| Bengali | Chalchitra Ekhon | Anjan Dutt | Anjan Dutt Production |
| Assamese | Juiphool | Jadumoni Dutta | Jadumoni Dutta |
| Gujarati | Maaran | Abhishek Jain | Cineman Productions Limited |
| Odia | Lahari | Amartya Bhattacharyya | Jhilik Motion Pictures |
Marathi: the strongest showing of the five
Besides Best Marathi Film, Marathi cinema won two more feature-film awards. Abhay Jodhpurkar was named Best Male Playback Singer for the song Navasachi Gauri Mazi from Gharat Ganpati, and Yogesh Deshpande won the adapted screenplay award for Swargandharva Sudhir Phadke.
The language did even better in the non-feature section. Bhangaar, produced and directed by Sumira Roy in Marathi and English, won Best Non-Feature Film and the Swarna Kamal. Abhijeet Arvind Dalvi’s Hamsafar won Best Short Film, and Shivpal Singh Kang won Best Music Direction for Parat 41°chya Magavar (On the Trail of 41°).
| Award | Film | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Best Marathi Film | Mukkam Post Bombilwadi | Paresh Mokashi (director) |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Gharat Ganpati | Abhay Jodhpurkar |
| Best Screenplay (adapted) | Swargandharva Sudhir Phadke | Yogesh Deshpande |
| Best Non-Feature Film | Bhangaar (Marathi & English) | Sumira Roy |
| Best Short Film (up to 30 minutes) | Hamsafar | Abhijeet Arvind Dalvi |
| Best Music Direction (non-feature) | Parat 41°chya Magavar | Shivpal Singh Kang |
Bengali and Assamese
Chalchitra Ekhon, the Best Bengali Film, was directed by Anjan Dutt and produced by Anjan Dutt Production. The Bengali film Onko Ki Kothin shared the Best Child Artist award: its young actors Riddhiman Banerjee, Tapomoy Deb and Gitashree Chakraborty were honoured alongside child actors from the Kannada film Mithya and the Telugu film 35-Chinna Katha Kaadu.
In Assamese, Jadumoni Dutta produced and directed Juiphool, the Best Assamese Film. Both languages also feature in Life in Loom, a non-feature film in English, Tamil, Hindi, Assamese and Bengali, for which Edmond Ranson won Best Cinematography.
Gujarati and Odia
Abhishek Jain’s Maaran, produced by Cineman Productions, was named Best Gujarati Film, and Amartya Bhattacharyya’s Lahari, produced by Jhilik Motion Pictures, won Best Odia Film. Each language won one award in this edition.
Other regional winners
The jury also named Best Konkani Film (Mog Asum), Best Manipuri Film (Sunita), Best Garhwali Film (Dholi) and Best Tulu Film (IMBU). In the non-feature section, Ravi Raj Murmu won Best Debut Film of a Director for Angen, in Santhali.
Our calculation
| Language | Awards won (feature and non-feature) |
|---|---|
| Marathi | 6 |
| Bengali | 3 (including the multilingual Life in Loom) |
| Assamese | 2 (including the multilingual Life in Loom) |
| Gujarati | 1 |
| Odia | 1 |
What it means for India
The National Film Awards offer a best-film prize for each language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, which keeps smaller industries in the national spotlight. In this edition, Marathi cinema stood out, winning in music, writing, short film and the top non-feature category. The eastern languages, Bengali, Odia and Assamese, each took their best-film award, with Bengali adding a performance prize.
What to watch
- Regional selections in IFFI’s Indian Panorama, which has 76 films in 18 languages this year.
- Releases of the award-winning films on screens and streaming platforms.
- The call for entries for the next National Film Awards.
Marathi director Paresh Mokashi, whose Mukkam Post Bombilwadi won Best Marathi Film, with director Shabnam Sukhdev at a press conference at IFFI 2014 in Panaji (file photo). Image: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, GODL-India, via Wikimedia Commons. Photo source · Licence
Sources
- PIB (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting): 72nd National Film Awards for the year 2024 announced
- PIB (Ministry of Information and Broadcasting): IFFI 2026 curtain raiser
The Entertainment Desk covers cinema from India, Asia and Hollywood: releases, box office, awards and festivals, reported from official announcements. Stories are checked against at least two credible sources before publication.
