Randeep Hooda's Directing Debut Wins a National Award

Randeep Hooda won the National Film Award for Best Debut Film of a Director for Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, the biographical drama he directed, co-wrote and starred in. Announced on July 18, 2026, the award came with a statement in which he called the film the most demanding work of his career.

The award

The Press Information Bureau's list for the 72nd National Film Awards names Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, a Hindi film, under Best Debut Film of a Director, with Randeep Hooda as the awardee. It carries a Swarna Kamal and Rs 3 lakh. The same list gave Best Feature Film to Article 370, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, and named Kartik Aaryan, Mammootty and Yami Gautam for the acting awards.

What he said

The Hindu published his statement: "It is a moment I'm still trying to process. This film asked more of me than anything I've ever done. The journey of this film was filled with challenges at every juncture, but I'm glad we saw it through and overcame each of those. And despite that, somehow we kept finding the strength to move forward. As an actor, co-writer and first-time director, I gave this film everything I had because I felt an immense responsibility towards telling Veer Savarkar's story with sincerity and honesty."

He said he was grateful to his team for believing in his dream, and that the recognition belonged to all of them. He added that he hoped it would inspire people, especially the younger generation, to discover and reflect on Savarkar's legacy. Hindustan Times, in a separate report we saw only in summary, said he recalled overcoming challenges while shooting the film.

The film

The Hindu describes Swatantrya Veer Savarkar as a biographical drama on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, exploring his early revolutionary activities and the torture he faced at the Cellular Jail. Hooda plays the title role. Savarkar is a contested historical figure. Wikipedia's article on him describes him as a politician and ideologue who developed the Hindutva ideology, who was imprisoned in the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and who, according to the historian A. Devare, largely stopped his criticism of British rule after his release in 1924. We report that background because the film's subject is debated, and the award is for the direction of a first-time filmmaker, not an endorsement of any view of its subject.

The career

Wikipedia describes Hooda as an actor who works mainly in Hindi cinema, known for physical transformations. It says he made his Hindi film debut with Monsoon Wedding in 2001 and that Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010) was a turning point. It also lists Highway, Main Aur Charles and Sarbjit among the films that brought critical acclaim, and Kick and Sultan among his biggest hits. It says he starred in the American film Extraction and the series CAT.

The awards page records that Hooda is credited as director on this film. The Hindu says the project marked his directorial debut and that he also co-wrote it.

Why it matters

Actors turning director is common, and this award is for the debut itself. The Hindu's account of the statement shows the weight he placed on the project. The jury has not, in what we read, published a citation explaining the win.

What we could not confirm

We could not confirm the jury's citation, and we have not seen the film. We could not confirm the box office or the budget of the film from the sources we read. We read The Hindu in full and the other reports through search summaries. The Times of India summary says he called the film a personal victory, and we have not read that article, so we do not quote it.

Sources

*Cover photo: Bollywood Hungama, Wikimedia Commons, *[*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Randeep_Hooda_snapped_at_Zee_Cine_Awards_2024.jpg*](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Randeep_Hooda_snapped_at_Zee_Cine_Awards_2024.jpg)* (CC BY 3.0).*