A Night of Celebrated Talent: Critics’ Choice Awards India 2026 Honors Cinematic Excellence
The Film Critics Guild, in collaboration with WPP Motion Entertainment, officially unveiled the winners of the prestigious 8th Critics’ Choice Awards on Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Celebrating the best in Indian visual storytelling, the awards spanned categories including feature films, web series, documentaries, and short films. The honorees were selected by a distinguished jury of 56 of the country’s most prominent critics from print, digital, radio, and broadcast media.
Feature Film Category Dominated by Homebound
The feature film competition was decisively led by Neeraj Ghaywan’s critically acclaimed project, Homebound. After entering the race with an impressive six nominations, the film secured victories in four of the most prominent awards. It was crowned Best Film, while Ghaywan himself received the Best Director accolade. The film’s cast was also recognized, with Vishal Jethwa winning Best Actor and Shalini Vatsa being named Best Supporting Actress for her powerful performance.
Other significant wins in the feature film section included Priyanka Bose, who earned the Best Actress trophy for her work in Agra. The award for Best Supporting Actor was presented to Pasupathy for his role in Bison Kaalamaadan.
Black Warrant and Paatal Lok S2 Rule the Digital Realm
The web series category showcased a fierce battle, ultimately dominated by the thriller Black Warrant, which secured an impressive four awards. It was named Best Web Series, and its directorial team of Vikramaditya Motwane, Satyanshu Singh, Arkesh Ajay, Rohin Raveendran Nair, and Ambiecka Pandit collectively won Best Director. The series also earned Rahul Bhat the Best Supporting Actor award, and the writing duo of Satyanshu Singh and Arkesh Ajay won for Best Writing.
The second season of the popular series Paatal Lok also made a strong showing with two major wins. Jaideep Ahlawat was honored with the Best Actor award, and Tillotama Shome was named Best Supporting Actress. Monika Panwar took home the Best Actress award for her role in the series Khauf.
Honoring Diverse Storytelling: Short Films and Documentaries
The awards also highlighted exceptional work in shorter formats. The short film Maaybaapache Aashirwaad (Blessings) achieved a remarkable hat-trick, winning Best Film, Best Director for Apurva Bardapurkar, and Best Writing. Sunny Hinduja and Sheeba Chaddha were awarded Best Actor and Best Actress for That’s A Wrap and Nighiyaan Chhavan (Warm Shadows), respectively.
In the documentary category, I, Poppy was selected as Best Documentary. A special Gender Sensitivity Award was presented to the film Sthal (A Match) for its nuanced narrative.
A Special Tribute to a Legend
The evening concluded with a poignant Special Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Cinema, which was bestowed upon the iconic and beloved actress Farida Jalal, celebrating her enduring legacy in Indian film.
