The Chetak Screen Awards 2026 honoured excellence in Hindi cinema and OTT content at a ceremony held in Mumbai on April 5. Director Neeraj Ghaywan’s film ‘Homebound’ received the Best Film award, presented by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Reliance Foundation founder-chairperson Nita Ambani.
Aditya Dhar’s ‘Dhurandhar’ was the most awarded production of the event, securing 14 accolades across various categories. Dhar also won the Best Director award.
In the acting categories, Yami Gautam was named Best Actor (Female) for her role in ‘Haq’, while Ranveer Singh won Best Actor (Male) for his performance in ‘Dhurandhar’.
The awards ceremony introduced five new categories recognising excellence in OTT productions. Sanya Malhotra received Best Actor (Female) – OTT Film for ‘Mrs’. Karan Tejpal’s ‘Stolen’ achieved significant success, winning Best OTT Film, Best Director – OTT Film awarded to Karan Tejpal, Best Actor (Male) – OTT Film for Abhishek Banerjee, and Best Script – OTT Film credited to Karan Tejpal, Gaurav Dhingra, and Swapnil Salkar.
Hosted by Alia Bhatt with support from Sunil Grover, Zakir Khan and Saurabh Dwivedi, the ceremony included an ‘In Memoriam’ segment paying tribute to film personalities who died in 2025.
Veteran actor Dharmendra was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award, accepted by his son Bobby Deol. The award was presented by Javed Akhtar, Ramesh Sippy and Devendra Fadnavis. Bobby Deol reflected on his father’s belief in spreading happiness and gratitude, stating, “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.” He added, “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.”
The awards, instituted by The Indian Express Group, are decided by the Screen Academy, an independent panel of 53 filmmakers and artists. The evaluation process, developed under Dr Priya Jaikumar’s guidance, follows a structured system based on creativity, technical excellence, innovation, viewer connection and authenticity.
Other notable winners included Akshaye Khanna and Shalini Vatsa, who won supporting acting awards for ‘Dhurandhar’ and ‘Homebound’ respectively. Gulzar and Shreya Ghoshal were among the prominent recipients in music categories.
Full list of winners at the Chetak Screen Awards 2026:
- Best Film: Homebound
- Best Actor (Female): Yami Gautam – 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: Karan Tejpal, Gaurav Dhingra, Swapnil Salkar – Stolen
