‘Bahut kuch seekhna baaki hai’: Yami Gautam reflects on first National Film Award win

Actor Yami Gautam Tuesday reflected on winning her first National Film Award, saying the recognition had left her with a sense of gratitude while reminding her that there was still much to learn as an artiste.

Gautam received the Best Actress award for her performance in Article 370 at the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony in Ekta Nagar, Gujarat. Speaking after receiving the honour, she described the moment as special and said the award represented both recognition of her journey and motivation to continue growing as a performer.

“Bahut kuch seekhna baaki hai,” Gautam said, indicating that despite the milestone, she believed she still had much to learn.

First National Award

The honour marked Gautam’s first National Film Award in a career spanning more than a decade in Hindi cinema. She received the award from President Droupadi Murmu during the ceremony, which brought together actors, filmmakers, technicians and other members of the film industry.

Gautam said the recognition was particularly meaningful because of the significance attached to the National Film Awards and acknowledged the people who had supported her during her career.

Directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, Article 370 featured Gautam as an intelligence officer and was centred on events surrounding the abrogation of Article 370, which had granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The film was produced by Jyoti Deshpande, Aditya Dhar and Lokesh Dhar and also featured Priyamani, Arun Govil and Kiran Karmarkar in key roles.

‘Long way to go’

Speaking about the award, Gautam said she viewed the recognition not as the culmination of her journey but as encouragement to continue taking up challenging roles. She said an actor’s learning process never ended and that the honour had given her further motivation to work harder.

The actor, who made her Hindi film debut with Vicky Donor in 2012, has since appeared in films including Badlapur, Kaabil, Uri: The Surgical Strike, Bala, A Thursday, Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga and OMG 2.

In recent years, Gautam has increasingly taken on roles built around female protagonists, including A Thursday and Article 370. Her performance in the latter brought her the first National Award of her career.

The 72nd National Film Awards ceremony also saw veteran actor Anant Nag receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution to Indian cinema.

President Murmu, addressing the gathering, urged members of the film industry to recognise the wider social influence that accompanies stardom and appealed to celebrities to avoid endorsing products harmful to public health.

For Gautam, however, the ceremony marked a personal career milestone. Reflecting on the recognition, she said there remained “a long way to go”, with much more to learn as an actor.