New Delhi: The 72nd National Film Awards ceremony has begun at Ekta Nagar in Kevadia, Gujarat. The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, will present the honours to a total of 92 winners across various categories. In a historic move, the National Film Awards are taking place outside New Delhi for the first time against the backdrop of the Statue of Unity.
The award ceremony will honour the best of Indian cinema for 2024. Several well-known names from the Indian film industry were among the big winners at the prestigious National Film Awards. Kartik Aaryan and Mammootty shared the Best Actor honour for Chandu Champion and Bramayugam, respectively. Article 370 was named Best Feature Film, while Yami Gautam took home the Best Actress award for her performance in the film.
R Madhavan’s son Vedaant Madhavan’s Asian Games 2026 campaign saw a setback on Monday after the Indian men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team narrowly missed out on a place in the final. The Indian quartet finished ninth in the qualification round, ending their hopes of making it to the medal race.
Vedaant was part of the four-member team alongside Sajan Prakash, Dhakshan Shashikumar and Aneesh Sunil. The Indian swimmers clocked 7:24.32, finishing just outside the top eight that progressed to the final.
The result appeared to leave Vedaant disappointed, but his message suggested that he was already looking ahead to his next event. Sharing an update, he wrote, “Missed finals by 0.2 and best Indian by 0.5 200 free day after.”
R Madhavan reacts to son Vedaant’s performance
R Madhavan also reacted to the result on social media with folded hands emojis. The actor shared Vedaant’s update on his own story and responded with emojis, showing his support for his son following the narrowly missed qualification.
The 4x200m freestyle relay result came down to a fine margin, with India missing the final by just 0.2 seconds. Vedaant also highlighted his individual performance, noting that he was the best Indian swimmer by 0.5 seconds.
With another 200m freestyle event coming up the following day, the young swimmer will have an opportunity to put the disappointment behind him and compete again.
Srihari Nataraj reaches 50m backstroke final
While the relay team missed out on the final, Srihari Nataraj provided India with a boost in the swimming competition. The two-time Olympian progressed to the men’s 50m backstroke final after clocking 25.37 seconds. Nataraj finished third in his heat, matching the timing recorded by Iran’s Homer Abbasi. His time placed him joint ninth overall and was enough to secure a spot in the final.
India adds another shooting medal
India’s medal tally at the Asian Games 2026 also received another boost in shooting. Rudrankksh Patil, Parth Mane and Himanshu Dhillon won the silver medal in the men’s 10m air rifle team competition. The Indian trio finished with 1890.1 points, behind China’s gold-medal-winning score of 1899.0. South Korea took bronze with 1841.4 points.
The medal marked India’s third podium finish at the continental event, with all three medals coming from shooting competitions. India had begun its shooting campaign strongly on Sunday. Elavenil Valarivan won silver in the women’s 10m air rifle individual event, while Valarivan, Sonam Uttam Maskar and Vidarsa Kochalumkal Vinod combined to secure another silver in the team competition.
Who is Vedaant Madhavan?
Vedaant Madhavan is the son of actor R Madhavan and has carved out a sporting identity of his own as a competitive swimmer. A freestyle specialist, he has represented India at international events and has been part of the country’s senior swimming setup.
