Making the janata fall in love with film awards again, the Chetak Screen Awards 2026 celebrated everything that defines Hindi cinema and OTT in resplendent style, without missing its signature ingredient: credibility. In a star-studded ceremony in Mumbai on Sunday, April 5, the finest talents who made 2025 extra special for all of us were honoured with the Chetak Screen Awards, which were finalised through a rigorous, transparent process.
In Bollywood’s biggest night in recent times, director Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound was named Best Film. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and businesswoman Nita Ambani presented the trophy to the film’s team. Meanwhile, director Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar emerged as the preeminent title at the ceremony, clinching 14 awards in total. Bollywood icon Dharmendra was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
While Aditya Dhar won the Chetak Screen Award for Best Director, Yami Gautam was named Best Actor (Female) for her performance in Haq, and Ranveer Singh bagged the trophy for Best Actor (Male) for Dhurandhar.
In a significant and timely move, the Chetak Screen Awards 2026 introduced five new categories to celebrate cinematic excellence in the OTT domain. While Sanya Malhotra won Best Actor (Female) – OTT Film for her performance in Mrs, Karan Tejpal’s ‘Stolen’ emerged as a major winner at the Chetak Screen Awards, taking home Best OTT Film, Best Director – OTT film (Karan Tejpal), Best Actor (Male) – OTT film for Abhishek Banerjee, and Best Script – OTT film (Karan Tejpal, Gaurav Dhingra, and Goa’s Dr. Swapnil Salkar).
The gala ceremony was nothing short of extravagant as Bollywood star Alia Bhatt took the stage as host, accompanied by actor-comedians Sunil Grover and Zakir Khan, and Saurabh Dwivedi, Editor – Hindi, The Indian Express. But at the same time, the Chetak Screen Awards were not just about opulence. In the In Memoriam segment, the Indian film industry legends who passed away in 2025 were honoured. As images of those icons appeared on the large screen, one by one, all the attendees stood, paying tribute to the departed.
Subsequently, Bobby Deol accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of his late father, Dharmendra. The award was presented by legendary screenwriter-lyricist Javed Akhtar, veteran filmmaker Ramesh Sippy, and Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis. While addressing the gathering, Bobby choked up and said, “I see my father’s love in all your eyes. My father touched everyone’s hearts through his work and even through his Instagram reels, which had become his new hobby.”
Mentioning that Dharmendra always believed in spreading happiness and gratitude, Bobby added, “He always wanted people to stay happy and believed that God has given all of us so much in life. He used to say that we all have a special gift within us, and if we believe in it, we can achieve anything.”
Here is the full list of winners at Chetak Screen Awards 2026:
Best Film: Homebound
Best Actor (Female): Yami Gautam Dhar – Haq
Best Actor (Male): Ranveer Singh – Dhurandhar
Best Director: Aditya Dhar – Dhurandhar
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Shalini Vatsa – Homebound
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male): Akshaye Khanna – Dhurandhar
Best Action: Aejaz Gulab, Sea Young Oh, Yannick Ben, Ramazan Bulut – Dhurandhar
Best Background Score: Shashwat Sachdev – Dhurandhar
Best Choreography: Vijay Ganguly – Shararat (Dhurandhar)
Best Cinematography: Vikash Nowlakha – Dhurandhar
Best Costume: Sheetal Iqbal Sharma – Chhaava; Smriti Chauhan – Dhurandhar
Best Dialogue: Aditya Dhar – Dhurandhar
Best Editing: Shivkumar V Panicker – Dhurandhar
Best Film for Gender Sensitivity: Haq
Best Film Writing (Story & Screenplay): Basharat Peer, Neeraj Ghaywan, Sumit Roy – Homebound
Best Hairstyling & Make-Up: Preetisheel Singh D’souza – Dhurandhar
Best Song: Saiyaara Title Track – Saiyaara (Tanishk Bagchi, Faheem Abdullah, Arslan Nizami)
Best Lyrics: Gulzar – Ul Julool Ishq (Gustaakh Ishq)
Best Playback Singer (Male): Faheem Abdullah – Saiyaara Title Track (Saiyaara)
Best Playback Singer (Female): Shreya Ghoshal – Saiyaara Title Track (Saiyaara)
Best Production Design: Saini S Johray – Dhurandhar
Best Sound Design: Bishwadeep Chatterjee – Dhurandhar
Best Special Effects: Envision VFX, Philm CGI, Resonance Digital, Dhruti Ranjan Sahoo, Vishal Tyagi, Raza Mohammed Shaikh – Dhurandhar
Breakthrough Debut Director: Shazia Iqbal – Dhadak 2
Breakthrough New Actor (Female): Aneet Padda – Saiyaara
Breakthrough New Actor (Male): Ahaan Panday – Saiyaara
Best OTT Film – Stolen
Best Actor (Female) – OTT Film: Sanya Malhotra – Mrs
Best Actor (Male) – OTT film: Abhishek Banerjee – Stolen
Best Director – OTT film: Karan Tejpal – Stolen
Best Script – OTT film: Stolen – Karan Tejpal, Gaurav Dhingra, Swapnil Salkar (AGADBUMB).
