Anant Nag receives the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest official honour in Indian cinema, from President Droupadi Murmu. (PTI)President Droupadi Murmu called for greater participation of women on the jury as she presented the National Film Awards for 2024 across more than 40 categories on Tuesday.The President also appealed to film stars to not endorse products that are harmful to health, saying, “Stars are those that give and spread light.”Celebrities from the film industry across the country attended the ceremony in Ektanagar, the tourist destination in Gujarat around the Statue of Unity in Narmada district.Also Read | 72nd National Film Awards: Anant Nag honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award; Mammootty bags top honourThe grand event was held in a special dome erected against the backdrop of the 182-metre tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel after whom the dam on the river Narmada is also named.President Murmu presented the awards to the winners in categories including feature and non-feature films, language films, biopics and documentaries.Veteran actor Anant Nag, who was accompanied by his wife Gayatri, received the country’s highest film honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.Actor Yami Gautam and her filmmaker husband Aditya Dhar received the award for Best Feature Film for ‘Article 370’.Story continues below this adAmong the awarded films were one on the life of Veer Savarkar in which Randeep Hooda plays the main protagonist, and one on the making of the Statue of Unity.ALSO READ | Days after Dhurandhar called ‘not Oscar material’, Aditya Dhar hopes for National AwardPresident Murmu noted that “many women were among the awardees”, and said, “I would wish that every regional jury ensures the participation of women, I saw that many women got recognised for their films today; therefore, there should be more women on the jury.“In any field, only when the perspective of women is included does it create a vision for entire humanity,” the President said.Story continues below this adShe said successful film artists and the roles they played were emulated by “crores of children and youth”, and appealed to artists not to “endorse substances that are harmful to health”.“Star wahi hai jo roshni deta hai, star wahi hai jo roshni phailaay,” the President said. Ravi Raj Murmu, director of the Santali-language film ‘Angen’ receives the award for the Best Debut Non-Feature Film of a Director from President Droupadi Murmu. (Express Photo)The President also mentioned the first Santali film to have won an award in the 72nd edition of the Awards. ‘Angen’ (Invisible), has been directed by Ravi Raj Murmu, a filmmaker from Jharkhand.President Murmu, who is herself Santali, said, “With this film, not only a brilliant film gets a boost but also our cultural diversity and social inclusivity.” The short film was recognised for “transforming folklore into cinematic poetry”.Story continues below this adThe President also appealed to those in the film industry to “give respect and social security” to the smallest labourers and artists contributing to the “creative economy”.This is the first time that the National Film Awards ceremony has been held outside Delhi.Union Minister for Railways and Information & Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said taking the film awards to destinations outside of the national capital was modelled after the G20, which was held across states and Union Territories. “That was an example of the way in which our country’s rich and diverse cultural heritage can be showcased,” the Minister said.Vaishnaw invited states and Union territories to select important tourist destinations where the next ceremony could be hosted, suggesting that holding the ceremony outside the national capital is set to become a trend.Story continues below this ad“We have gathered at the world’s tallest statue, which gives a huge opportunity to the film world to come and experience this beautiful place, the heritage and the historic events that happened in our country when the British were thrown out,” he said.“I am giving a call to all states and Union Territories to select one of the most important tourist destinations in your state and Union Territory and tell us what improvements you will make in them, and then your destination will be selected where the NFA will be held. This way, we will be able to visit some of the most important tourist destinations in our country,” the Minister said, adding that the presence of film stars at these places would promote them.Among the other stars present at the ceremony were Mammootty (Best Actor for Malayalam film ‘Brahmayugam’), Kartik Aaryan for Hindi film ‘Chandu Champion’, and Dhanush for the Tamil film ‘Raayan’.‘Bhangaar’ won the award for the Best Non-Feature Film, and ‘Ramnami’ for Best Documentary.Story continues below this adChief Minister Bhupendra Patel invited filmmakers to come to Gujarat, and mentioned the only Gujarati film to get an award: ‘Maaran’ (Kill) directed by Ahmedabad-based Abhishek Jain.Governor Acharya Devvrat noted that films were a way to take the world out of “stress and depression”.