
Actor Dhanush won his first National Film Award as a director for Raayan and received a Special Mention as an actor for Captain Miller at the 72nd National Film Awards in Kevadia,…
Actor Dhanush won his first National Film Award as a director for Raayan and received a Special Mention as an actor for Captain Miller at the 72nd National Film Awards in Kevadia, Gujarat. President Droupadi Murmu presented the honours on September 22. Dhanush now has three National Awards as an actor and one as a director.

Captain Miller also won Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social and Environmental Values. Dhanush's sons Linga and Yatra attended the ceremony. After the awards were announced, some critics argued that films like Maharaja were more deserving. Dhanush later acknowledged there were better films in 2024, but urged for support, saying he had missed awards for earlier acclaimed performances.
Dhanush's dual win was built on a year of great Tamil cinema, yet the framing of his awards remarks varied. Times Now highlighted his public response to criticism that 'better films' like Maharaja were overlooked, a government-critical angle that positions the awards as contested. Odisha TV and Times of India reported the ceremony neutrally, focusing on the director's praise and the film's themes. The coverage difference shows that while the awards themselves were celebrated, Dhanush's own acknowledgement of debate opened the door to questioning the selection process. The key number to track is how many award-winning films from 2024 find OSL streaming audiences in the coming months.
Coverage: 3 sources, 2 neutral, 1 sensationalist
Sources (3): timesnownews.com (sensationalist), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report), odishatv.in (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.