Anant Nag to Get Dadasaheb Phalke Award at 72nd National Film Awards

Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag has been named as the recipient of the Prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024, he has been awarded for his contribution to the Indian cinema. This award will be presented to him at the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony in Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, Gujarat, on September 22nd, 2026. This recognition honors his decades long career across the different Indian language cinema, as well as his work in the theatre and television. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced that the Dadasaheb Phalke Award is presented for his outstanding contribution to the growth and development of the Indian cinema.

Who Is Anant Nag?

Anant Nagarkatte born on September 4, 1948 in Shirali of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka and he started his acting career in the world of theatre.

Nag worked in Kannada, Konkani, Marathi and Hindi theatre and has been associated with leading theatre personalities like Satyadev Dubey, Girish Karnad and Amol Palekar.

Sankalpa marked his feature film debut and over the years, he has emerged as one of the leading actors in Kannada Cinema along with working in several Indian language film industry.

Contribution of Anant Nag to Indian Cinema

Anant Nag has featured in over 300 films, including 250 plus Kannada films. Anant Nag’s filmography has other languages like Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam and English films.

Some of his major films include Minchina Ota, Hamsageethe, Ankur and Manthan.

Apart from mainstream films, Anant Nag has worked in parallel films, theatre and even television. He was also part of the television serial Malgudi Days of Doordarshan channel that were based on stories by the famous author R.K. Narayan.

Anant Nag and Dadasaheb Phalke Award

Dadasaheb Phalke Award is awarded for distinguished contribution towards the growth and development of Indian cinema. As per the National Film Awards rules, it is an annual award under the National Film Awards which is awarded with a Swarna Kamal, cash prize of ₹15 lakh and shawl.

Anant Nag has been chosen for the award for the year 2024. It will be awarded on 22 September 2026 at the ceremony of the 72nd National Film Awards.

The ceremony will take place at Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, Gujarat.

Other Major Recognition Received by Anant Nag

In 2025, Anant Nag was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour.

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is yet another major national recognition that he has earned during his five-decade-long career.

Latest Recipients of Dadasaheb Phalke Award

Some of the latest recipients of this award are as follows,

Mithun Chakraborty was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2022 at the 70th National Film Awards held in October 2024, and Mohanlal (Malayalam cinema industry) was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.