Highlights
- Homebound wins four major awards including Best Film and Best Director
- Black Warrant dominates web series category with four trophies
- Acting honours spread across films and streaming titles
Homebound emerges as the standout
Homebound proved to be the biggest winner at the 8th Critics’ Choice Awards, securing four key honours including Best Film, Best Director for Neeraj Ghaywan, Best Actor for Vishal Jethwa and Best Supporting Actress for Shalini Vatsa.
The annual awards, organised by the Film Critics Guild in partnership with WPP Motion Entertainment, recognise achievements across feature films, web series, documentaries and short films. Winners are selected by a panel of 56 critics from across India.
Accepting the Best Director honour, Ghaywan described the recognition as meaningful for the entire team, noting that the film draws from the lived experiences of people often overlooked.
Homebound secured Best Actor for Vishal JethwaGetty Images
Black Warrant dominates streaming category
In the web series section, Black Warrant led the field with four wins, including Best Web Series and Best Director for Vikramaditya Motwane.
The series also earned Best Supporting Actor for Rahul Bhat and Best Writing for Satyanshu Singh and Arkesh Ajay.
Acting honours in the web category went to Jaideep Ahlawat for Paatal Lok Season 2 and Monika Panwar for Khauf, while Tillotama Shome won Best Supporting Actress for Paatal Lok Season 2.
Performances and technical winners
Priyanka Bose was named Best Actress in the feature film category for Agra. Pasupathy won Best Supporting Actor for Bison Kaalamaadan, marking his second Critics’ Choice Award.
Writing honours in the feature film category went to Rohan Parashuram Kanawade for Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears), which had earlier received recognition at Sundance.
In technical categories, cinematography and editing awards were awarded to Sunil Borkar for Jugnuma and Chaman Chakko for Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra respectively. The FCG Gender Sensitivity Award was presented to Sthal.
Short films and special recognition
In the short film category, Maaybaapache Aashirwaad (Blessings) by Apurva Bardapurkar led with three wins including Best Film, Best Director and Best Writing. Acting honours went to Sunny Hinduja for That’s A Wrap and Sheeba Chaddha for Nighiyaan Chhavan.
The Best Documentary award went to I, Poppy by Vivek Chaudhary.
Veteran actor Farida Jalal received the Extraordinary Contribution to Cinema Award, recognising a career spanning decades and genres, most recently seen in The Great Shamsuddin Family.
