The Chetak Screen Awards 2026 honoured the best of Hindi cinema and OTT, with Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound winning Best Film and Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar emerging as the biggest winner with 14 awards.
The ceremony, held in Mumbai on April 5, recognised films of 2025 through a rigorous and transparent selection process. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and businesswoman Nita Ambani presented the Best Film award.
Aditya Dhar won Best Director for Dhurandhar, while Yami Gautam was named Best Actor (Female) for Haq and Ranveer Singh won Best Actor (Male) for Dhurandhar.
In a significant move, the awards introduced five new categories to recognise excellence in the OTT domain. Sanya Malhotra won Best Actor (Female) – OTT Film for Mrs, while Stolen emerged as a major winner, taking home Best OTT Film, Best Director – OTT Film (Karan Tejpal), Best Actor (Male) – OTT Film for Abhishek Banerjee, and Best Script – OTT Film.
The ceremony was hosted by Alia Bhatt, with Sunil Grover, Zakir Khan and Saurabh Dwivedi also taking the stage. An In Memoriam segment paid tribute to film industry figures who passed away in 2025.
Dharmendra was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Bobby Deol accepted the award on his behalf, presented by Javed Akhtar, Ramesh Sippy and Devendra Fadnavis.
“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.”
“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.”
The awards, instituted by The Indian Express Group, are designed to recognise artistic merit through an independent Screen Academy comprising 53 filmmakers and cultural voices. Winners across 31 categories were finalised after evaluation based on creativity, technical excellence, viewer connectivity, innovation and authenticity.