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<\/picture><\/div>\nMaharashtra leaders Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray have criticized the decision to shift the National Film Awards ceremony from Delhi to Gujarat for the first time in its 72-year history. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has appealed to artists to boycott the ceremony.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Objecting to the change in venue, Raj Thackeray wrote, \u201cWhy was this necessary after all? After attempts to diminish the importance of Mumbai, the country\u2019s financial capital, is there now an attempt to gradually undermine the importance of Delhi, the national capital, as well?\u201d<\/p>\n He further questioned the decision, writing, \u201cThe question is straightforward: Why are the National Film Awards being held in Gujarat? If the venue had to be changed, why not Mumbai? Dadasaheb Phalke laid the foundation of Indian cinema in Maharashtra. So why was the awards ceremony not held in Maharashtra? Films are made on a large scale in states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. In South India, cinema has even influenced politics. So why was Gujarat chosen?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He further wrote, ‘It seems that people who have failed to accomplish something significant on their own are now trying to create a new history by changing names and places. Perhaps they fear that their political influence may eventually remain limited to Gujarat, which is why efforts are being made from today itself to make Gujarat the center of everything.’<\/p>\n Why is Gujarat being given prominence? – Raj Thackeray<\/strong><\/p>\n Raj Thackeray questioned not only the decision to hold the National Film Awards in Gujarat, but also the choice of Gujarat as the location for the Commonwealth and the 2023 Cricket World Cup. He asked what Amit Shah wanted to convey to the country through this. He wrote, “The issue is not whether the ceremony is being held in Kevadia or Mumbai. The real question is why a magnificent tradition that has continued for 72 years is being broken. The National Film Awards have always been presented in the country’s capital, Delhi. Why was there suddenly a need to change this tradition? In the United States, the Oscars are always held in Los Angeles. Whether Trump, Bush or Obama was in power, none of them tried to move the awards ceremony to their home state.”<\/p>\n “We will certainly raise our voice on this issue, but artists across the country will also have to come forward. Artists must ask why the glorious tradition of the National Film Awards is being broken.”<\/p>\n Sanjay Raut Appeals to Celebrities to Boycott the Ceremony<\/strong><\/p>\n Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut also condemned holding the ceremony in Gujarat. He said that this is not a program related to Gujarat, but the National Film Awards, so why was Gujarat chosen as its location? It should have been held in the capital, as has been the practice for the past several years. He appealed to other celebrities not to attend the event and to boycott it.<\/p>\n Ceremony to be held in Gujarat instead of New Delhi<\/strong><\/p>\n The National Film Awards ceremony has traditionally been held in New Delhi. Last year, the 71st National Film Awards ceremony took place at Vigyan Bhavan in Delhi on September 23, 2025. President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards to the winners.<\/p>\n This tradition is set to change with the 72nd National Film Awards. According to officials, the ceremony is being planned outside Delhi this time, at Ekta Nagar (Kevadia) in Gujarat. This would be the first time that the National Film Awards ceremony is held outside Delhi.<\/p>\n The winners of the 72nd National Film Awards were announced on July 18, 2026. Article 370<\/em> won Best Feature Film, while its actress Yami Gautam received the Best Actress award. The Best Actor award was jointly given to Kartik Aaryan for Chandu Champion<\/em> and Mammootty for Bramayugam<\/em>.<\/p>\n President Murmu may present the awards<\/strong><\/p>\n According to a report by The Indian Express<\/em>, President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to visit Gujarat on September 22. She will attend the convocation ceremony of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and later participate in a Brahma Kumaris programme in Padra. During the same visit, she is also likely to travel to Ekta Nagar, where she may present the 72nd National Film Awards.<\/p>\n Why was Ekta Nagar chosen?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ekta Nagar is located in Gujarat\u2019s Narmada district and is best known for the Statue of Unity. Holding the National Film Awards ceremony here connects the event with one of Gujarat\u2019s major tourism destinations and a site associated with national unity.<\/p>\n Recently, Anand L. Rai\u2019s documentary Statue of Unity \u2013 A Symbol of Unity<\/em> was also honoured at the 72nd National Film Awards. The documentary is based on the development of the Statue of Unity and Kevadia.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Maharashtra leaders Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray have criticized the decision to shift the National Film Awards ceremony from Delhi to Gujarat for the first time in its 72-year history. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has appealed to artists to boycott the ceremony. Objecting to the change in venue, Raj Thackeray wrote, \u201cWhy was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[181,33938,21931,33616,30327,33404,29573,29572],"class_list":["post-37015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-7","tag-delhi","tag-film-awards-controversy","tag-gujarat","tag-national-film-awards","tag-raj-thackeray","tag-sanjay-raut","tag-shiv-sena","tag-uddhav-thackeray"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.bhaskarassets.com\/web2images\/521\/2026\/09\/11\/screenshot_2026-09-11_122239_1789109678974.png\")
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