The 20th National Film Awards, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1972.[1]
With this year, new award category is introduced for the feature films made in Meitei language. This newly introduced category includes President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Manipuri.[1]
Juries
Six different committees were formed based on the film making sectors in India, mainly based in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras along with the central committee for all India level. For 20th National Film Awards, central committee was headed by Romesh Thapar.[1]
- Jury Members: Central
- Romesh Thapar (Chairperson)Template:•Thakazhi Sivasankara PillaiTemplate:•Rita RayTemplate:•Sheila VatsTemplate:•Usha BhagatTemplate:•Girish Karnad Template:SmallTemplate:•M. Yunus DehlviTemplate:•Teji BachchanTemplate:•Phanishwar Nath 'Renu'Template:•Shanta GandhiTemplate:•U. Visweswar RaoTemplate:•I. S. Johar Template:SmallTemplate:•Ardhendu Mukerjee
- Jury Members: Short Films
- S. K. Kooka (Chairperson)Template:•B. D. GargaTemplate:•Prasanta SanyalTemplate:•Gerson Da CunhaTemplate:•Aruna VasudevaTemplate:•Bishamber KhannaTemplate:•Revati Saran SharmaTemplate:•Din Dayal
- Jury Regional: Bombay
- Ali Sardar Jafri (Chairperson)Template:•Mrinalini SarabhaiTemplate:•Charles CorreaTemplate:•Bikram SinghTemplate:•Bhupendra Shah Template:•Gopinath TalwalkarTemplate:•D. G. NadkarniTemplate:•Kumud MehtaTemplate:•Adi MarzbanTemplate:•P. K. RavindranathTemplate:•B. K. AdarshTemplate:•Atma RamTemplate:•G. P. ShirkeTemplate:•Kamleshwar
- Jury Regional: Calcutta
- Sombhu Mitra (Chairperson)Template:•Amina KarTemplate:•Suchitra MitraTemplate:•Sanat LahiriTemplate:•N. K. GhoshTemplate:•Bhaben BaruaTemplate:•Ramesh Chandra DhallTemplate:•Ananda ShankarTemplate:•Badal SarkarTemplate:•B. N. Sircar
- Jury Regional: Calcutta - Nominated
- Parimal SarkarTemplate:•Kanan DeviTemplate:•Subodh MitraTemplate:•Elangbam Nilakanta SinghTemplate:•Maharaj Kumari Binodini Devi
- Jury Regional: Madras
- Malcolm Adiseshiah (Chairperson)Template:•B. N. ReddyTemplate:•A. L. VelliappaTemplate:•Mahmooda Haja ShareefTemplate:•S. AnanthamurthyTemplate:•Thoppil RaviTemplate:•V. C. SubburamanTemplate:•P. S. Ramakrishna RaoTemplate:•K. P. KottarakkaraTemplate:•Rajammal AnantharamanTemplate:•P. C. Mathew
Awards
Awards were divided into feature films and non-feature films.
President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film is now better known as National Film Award for Best Feature Film, whereas President's Gold Medal for the Best Documentary Film is analogous to today's National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film. For children's films, Prime Minister's Gold Medal is now given as National Film Award for Best Children's Film. At the regional level, President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film is now given as National Film Award for Best Feature Film in a particular language. Certificate of Merit in all the categories is discontinued over the years.
Lifetime Achievement Award
| Name of Award | Image | Awardee(s) | Awarded As | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award | 
|
Pankaj Mullick | Music Director | Template:INR11,000, a shawl and a plaque |
Feature films
Feature films were awarded at All India as well as regional level. For 20th National Film Awards, a Malayalam film Swayamvaram won the President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film along with winning the maximum number of awards (four). Following were the awards given in each category:[1]
All India Award
Following were the awards given:[1]
Regional Award
The awards were given to the best films made in the regional languages of India. For feature films in English, Kashmiri, Oriya and Punjabi language, President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film was not given. The producer and director of the film were awarded with Template:INR5,000 and a Silver medal, respectively.[1]
| Award | Film | Awardee(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Producer | Director | ||
| Best Feature Film in Assamese | Upaja Sonar Maati | M/s Pragati Cine Productions | Brajen Barua |
| Best Feature Film in Bengali | Strir Patra | Dhrupadi | Purnendu Patri |
| Best Feature Film in Gujarati | Gun Sundarino Ghar Sansar | Ramesh H. Saraiya | Govind Saraiya |
| Jayant Malaviya | |||
| Chandulal Gandhi | |||
| Best Feature Film in Hindi | Maya Darpan | Kumar Shahani | Kumar Shahani |
| Best Feature Film in Kannada | Sharapanjara | C. S. Rajah | Puttanna Kanagal |
| Best Feature Film in Malayalam | Panitheeratha Veedu | K. S. R. Moorthy | K. S. Sethumadhavan |
| Best Feature Film in Manipuri | Matamgi Manipur | Karam Monomohan Singh | Deb Kumar Bose |
| Best Feature Film in Marathi | Pinjra | V. Shantaram | V. Shantaram |
| Best Feature Film in Tamil | Pattikada Pattanama | P. Madhavan | P. Madhavan |
| Best Feature Film in Telugu | Pandanti Kapuram | G. Hanumantha Rao | Lakshmi Deepak |
Non-Feature films
Following were the awards given:[1]
Short films
| Name of Award | Name of Film | Language | Awardee(s) | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Information Film (Documentary) | The Inner Eye | English | Producer: Satyajit Ray | Template:INR5,000 and a medal |
| Director: Satyajit Ray | ||||
| Best Film on Social Documentation | Transcedence | English | Producer: Pramod Patil Template:Small | Template:INR5,000 |
| Director: K. Vishwanath Template:Small | Template:INR2,000 | |||
| Best Promotional Film (Commercial) | Destination India | English | Producer: Cinerad Communications | Silver Medal |
| Director: Zafar Hai | A plaque | |||
| Best Animation Film | You Said It | English | Producer: Prasad Productions | Template:INR5,000 |
| Director: Ram Mohan | Template:INR2,000 |
Awards not given
Following were the awards not given as no film was found to be suitable for the award:[1]
- Best Story Writer
- Best Film on Family Welfare
- Best Children's Film
- Best Educational / Instructional Film
- Best Experimental Film
- Best Promotional Film (Non-Commercial)
- President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in English
- President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Oriya
- President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Punjabi