From Hiranagar to the National Film Awards: Manvir Jasrotia Takes Best Editing for '75 Years of NDA'

"I am a simple boy from Hiranagar who had big dreams," Manvir Jasrotia told Daily Excelsior this week. "I came from a small place, but I never believed that where I came from should limit where I could go. If I can do it, anyone can."

He has reason to say it. Jasrotia, from Hiranagar in Kathua district, has received the National Film Award for Best Editing in the non-feature film category at the 72nd National Film Awards. The award was presented by President Droupadi Murmu. It is for his work on 75 Years of NDA, a documentary on the National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla. The awards' winners list names the film as NDA (Hindi).

The film was produced by Punit Balan Studios, directed by Tanuj Bhatia and Tanuka Laghate and written by Mudgha Kalra. It traces the Academy's 75 years, from its beginnings to its place as India's tri-services officer-training academy, and is built largely from archival footage.

That detail tells you what the editing award is for. In an archive-led documentary, the editor is not just trimming shots. He is finding the story in decades of existing material and deciding what a viewer sees, in what order, and for how long. The winners were announced in July. The awards ceremony was set for 22 September at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat, the first time in decades it moved out of Delhi. Daily Excelsior reported Jasrotia's award from Hiranagar on 28 September.

Nothing about the route was quick. Daily Excelsior describes more than 18 years in post-production for Jasrotia, the son of the late Honorary Captain Balbir Singh. He has worked as Chief Editor and as Post-Production Head on documentaries, television programmes, advertising projects and digital content, and with production houses and international networks along the way.

That matters for anyone in Jammu thinking about a screen career. The visible jobs in film are directing and acting. Many of the steady ones sit in post-production: editing, colour, sound and motion graphics. Those skills travel from ads to television to documentaries to streaming, and the work does not require you to be in front of a camera or in Mumbai on day one. Jasrotia's CV reads like a list of exactly those formats.

Jammu's screen scene has had a busy month. The city's own film festival ran its fifth edition this week, and the first International Film Festival of J&K closed earlier in September. A national award for a Kathua-born editor is a useful reminder that the craft side of cinema is also a career path from here, not only the festival stage.

Producer Punit Balan, quoted by Punekar News when the winners were announced, called the award "a moment of immense pride for everyone associated with '75 Years of NDA'" and congratulated Jasrotia and the creative team.

Sources

• Daily Excelsior — Manvir Jasrotia wins best editing award at NFA (29 September 2026)
• Punekar News — Punit Balan Studios' '75 Years of NDA' earns National Award as Manvir Jasrotia wins Best Editing (19 July 2026)
• Outlook — 72nd National Film Awards: winners full list
• News24 — 72nd National Film Awards ceremony: date, time, venue