Anant Nag receives Dadasaheb Phalke Award at 72nd ceremony

Veteran actor Anant Nag received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest honour in cinema, at the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony held in Kevadia, Gujarat on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. President Droupadi Murmu presented the award to Nag at the ceremony, which recognised winners for their contributions to Indian cinema in the year 2024. A special short film screening highlighted Nag's multidecade career before the conferment, and the auditorium rose in a standing ovation as he walked to the stage. Fellow awardees and industry colleagues, including Mammootty, Dhanush, Sanjay Mishra, Yami Gautam, Aditya Dhar and Kartik Aaryan, applauded as he accepted the honour. In his acceptance speech, Nag reflected on a career spanning more than five decades and said the award did not belong to him alone. He dedicated it to the producers, directors, dialogue writers, songwriters, cinematographers, costume designers, makeup artists, production managers and assistant and associate directors who had worked with him tirelessly, as well as to the millions of audiences who had opened their hearts and minds to his characters over the last five and a half decades.