Across decades, successive governments have faced criticism for using the awards to reward favourites, signal ideological preferences or shape cultural narratives. However, many filmmakers and critics argue that in recent years, the perception of political influence over the awards has become decidedly stronger, raising fresh questions about their autonomy and credibility.

In 2023, renowned filmmaker M S Sathyu told Showtime that he was disillusioned with the direction of the National Film Awards, arguing that they increasingly appeared to favour those aligned with the government of the day.

The central government recently announced the winners of the 72nd National Film Awards for films released in 2024. A close look at three of the top five honours (the Swarna Kamal) - Best Film for 'Article 370', Best Debut Film of a Director for 'Swatantrya Veer Savarkar' and Best Direction for 'Amaran' - shows that all three films had generated significant public debate, with several critics arguing that they advanced divisive political narratives. National Award-winning (Swarna Kamal) film critic N Manu Chakravarthy argues that the concerns extend beyond the selection of individual films.

"After 2014, the autonomy of the selection committee, and the choice of the committee members, has lost its sanctity because everything is tailor-made to suit the political manoeuvres of the ruling government."

National Award-winning senior film journalist Ratnottama Sen Gupta believes that every government has a bias while presenting the awards. "There are certain kinds of films that are made during certain administrations, and thus particular films end up getting awards. In most awards, irrespective of the regime, one can look for a political connection to the ruling party," she says.

V K Joseph, also a National Award-winning (Swarna Kamal) film critic, echoes similar concerns and believes the awards have drifted from their original mandate. "The awards reflect the cultural investment and the social fabric of the country. When the government started the National Film Awards, there was a purpose: to showcase good films from the country that could be compared to international cinema standards. For a long time, mainstream cinema had no role in the awards. Parallel and arthouse films were recognised."

That distinction between artistic and popular cinema has also become increasingly blurred. Many of the top honours now routinely go to mainstream commercial productions, making the separate category for Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment appear somewhat redundant. Even within commercial cinema, critics argue that some of the year's strongest films are overlooked.

'Stree 2', for instance, won only the award for Best Choreography despite being widely discussed as a sharp socio-political satire on misogyny that drew parallels between its monster and the contemporary "alpha male". Similarly, while Kartik Aaryan has been adjudged Best Actor for 'Chandu Champion', performances by Prithviraj Sukumaran in 'Aadujeevitam', Diljit Dosanjh in 'Amar Singh Chamkila', Vikram in 'Thangalaan' and Abhishek Bachchan in 'I Want to Talk' were regarded by many critics as more accomplished. Some of the year's most acclaimed films - 'Laapataa Ladies', 'Amar Singh Chamkila', 'All We Imagine as Light', 'Manjummel Boys', 'Girls Will Be Girls' and 'Vaazhai' - also failed to secure awards in any category.

Chakravarthy argues that awards that deeply reflect state patronage weaken their credibility and independence greatly.

Both 'Article 370' and 'Amaran' attracted criticism from sections of reviewers for echoing government and military narratives on Kashmir. The debate had intensified earlier when 'The Kashmir Files' received the National Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration, despite many critics arguing that the film deepened communal divisions rather than promoting social harmony.

The contrast becomes particularly striking when viewed against the history of the awards. Sathyu's 'Garm Hava' (1974), which portrayed the alienation of Indian Muslims after Partition, initially faced resistance from the censor board before being cleared following a special screening for then prime minister Indira Gandhi. It eventually won the National Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. Five decades later, the same honour went to 'The Kashmir Files', highlighting how changing political climates have also shaped evolving interpretations of national integration.

Earlier, audiences often looked forward to the National Film Awards as a way of discovering remarkable films from across India that might otherwise have escaped public attention. Many critics believe that sense of discovery has diminished over time, along with the awards' perceived credibility.

Chakravarthy believes the consequences extend beyond the awards themselves. "It will also lead to the silencing of creative voices of artistes and filmmakers and an erasure of good cinema, both arthouse and popular," he says.

Joseph believes history will ultimately offer a more enduring verdict. "The tragedy is that 20 years from now, when young people look back at the list of the National Film Award winners, they will be surprised by many of the films that were honoured. But they will discover the truly great films of the time, and those are the films that will endure, not the 'award-winning' ones," he says.