On a Sunday evening in Mumbai, the Chetak Screen Awards 2026 offered Indian cinema a mirror of its own ambitions — rewarding technical mastery, storytelling courage, and the quiet dignity of those who labor unseen. Aditya Dhar's spy thriller Dhurandhar claimed 14 trophies, yet the night's highest honor, Best Film, went to Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound, a reminder that dominance and distinction are not always the same thing. The ceremony, built around a 53-member Screen Academy and rigorous evaluation criteria, positioned itself as a credible reckoning with what cinema can be — and paused, too, to
Dhurandhar Dominates Chetak Screen Awards 2026 with 14 Wins; Homebound Named Best Film
The magic we see on screen is incomplete without the magicians off screen.
Mark
So Dhurandhar won 14 awards. That's a lot. But it didn't win Best Film—Homebound did. How does that happen?
Mimi
Dhurandhar was the technical powerhouse. It won cinematography, sound, editing, special effects, production design, costume, action, choreography, makeup, dialogue. Those are the departments that make a film look and feel the way it does. But Best Film is a different judgment. The Academy looked at Homebound's overall creative vision and impact and chose that as the year's best.
Luke
Worth noting: Homebound had 15 nominations, Dhurandhar had 24. So Dhurandhar was favored going in. But the voting on Best Film can split differently from the technical categories. We don't know if it was close or decisive.
Mark
The ceremony kept saying it was credible and rigorous. What made it different from other awards?
Mimi
They had an independent Academy of 53 filmmakers and cultural voices. A USC professor developed grading guidelines. Films were judged on creativity, technical excellence, viewer connectivity, innovation. Performances were assessed for authenticity. It wasn't just industry insiders voting however they wanted.
Luke
That's what they say. The guidelines existed. But we can't see the actual scores or deliberations. "Rigorous" and "credible" are claims. The process sounds solid, but the results are still subjective choices by humans.
Mark
Homebound was shortlisted for the Oscars. Does that matter to how we read this award?
Mimi
It's context. It means the film had already been recognized internationally. But the Chetak Screen Awards were judging Hindi cinema specifically, on their own criteria. The Oscar shortlist doesn't determine this outcome.
Luke
Though it does add prestige to Homebound's win. If you're a reader, you might think: this film is good enough for the Oscars and also won Best Film here. That's a stronger signal than if it had won only one.
Mark
Stolen won a lot in the OTT categories. Is that because OTT films are actually better, or because they're judged separately?
Mimi
They're judged separately because they're a different medium. Stolen won Best OTT Film, Best Director for OTT, Best Script for OTT, and acting awards. That's a sweep within its category, not a comparison to theatrical films.
Luke
The Academy created separate categories for OTT. That's a choice. It means OTT films don't compete against theatrical films for the top prizes. We don't know if that's because OTT deserves its own space or because theatrical films were considered the main event.
Mark
They honored Dharmendra, who died last year. His son Bobby accepted the award. That seemed emotional.
Mimi
It was. Javed Akhtar spoke about meeting Dharmendra when he was twenty and said the whole industry still loves him. Bobby said his father always wanted people to be happy. It was a genuine moment of remembrance.
Luke
The ceremony used that moment to signal respect for cinema history. It's appropriate. But it's also a ceremonial function—honoring the dead is part of what awards shows do. The emotion was real, but it was also scripted into the evening.
Il Polso
- Dhurandhar arrived with 24 nominations and left with 14 awards, sweeping nearly every technical category in a display of industrial filmmaking at its most formidable.
- Yet the Best Film trophy slipped away to Homebound, Neeraj Ghaywan's internationally recognized drama, signaling that critical prestige and popular dominance can coexist without colliding.
- The OTT space had its own dominant force — Stolen claimed five awards including both acting honors, with Abhishek Banerjee joking that his own sources had told him he wouldn't win.
- The ceremony carried an undercurrent of self-correction, with host Alia Bhatt openly acknowledging past credibility failures and the organizers staking the evening's identity on transparency and process.
- A solemn tribute to the late Dharmendra — with Javed Akhtar's memories and Bobby Deol's tearful acceptance — grounded the celebration in loss, legacy, and the enduring love an industry holds for its own.
On a Sunday evening in Mumbai, the Chetak Screen Awards 2026 offered Indian cinema a mirror of its own ambitions — rewarding technical mastery, storytelling courage, and the quiet dignity of those who labor unseen. Aditya Dhar's spy thriller Dhurandhar claimed 14 trophies, yet the night's highest honor, Best Film, went to Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound, a reminder that dominance and distinction are not always the same thing. The ceremony, built around a 53-member Screen Academy and rigorous evaluation criteria, positioned itself as a credible reckoning with what cinema can be — and paused, too, to remember those who shaped it and are no longer here.
The Chetak Screen Awards 2026 closed on Sunday in Mumbai with Aditya Dhar's spy thriller Dhurandhar as the evening's most decorated film, taking home 14 trophies across an almost complete sweep of technical categories — cinematography, sound design, editing, special effects, production design, background score, and more. Ranveer Singh won Best Actor for his performance in the film, and Dhar himself claimed Best Director.
Still, the night's most prestigious honor went elsewhere. Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound — shortlisted for the Academy Awards in the Best International Feature category — won Best Film and Best Writing, with Shalini Vatsa earning Best Supporting Actress. Yami Gautam took Best Actress for Haq, which also won the ceremony's gender sensitivity award.
Hosted by Alia Bhatt, Zakir Khan, and Saurabh Dwivedi, the evening carried a deliberate tone of institutional repair. Bhatt acknowledged past missteps and declared that "senseless awards" were behind them. The OTT categories were swept by Stolen, with Abhishek Banerjee and Sanya Malhotra winning acting honors and Karan Tejpal taking Best OTT Director. Banerjee joked his sources had predicted he'd lose — to which Dwivedi replied that the era of leaked outcomes was over.
The ceremony paused for a tribute to Dharmendra, the legendary actor who died in 2025. Javed Akhtar and Ramesh Sippy shared memories from the stage, and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Bobby Deol, who accepted on his father's behalf with visible emotion. A moment of silence honored other cinema figures lost in 2025.
Mohit Suri's romantic musical Saiyaara, credited with drawing audiences back to theaters, finished as the second-most-awarded film of the night. Its newcomers Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda won Breakthrough Actor honors, and the title track earned four awards including Best Playback Singer Female for Shreya Ghoshal. The Chetak Screen Awards, organized around a 53-member Screen Academy with structured evaluation criteria developed by USC scholar Dr. Priya Jaikumar, broadcast live on YouTube and SonyLIV.
The Chetak Screen Awards 2026 wrapped on Sunday evening in Mumbai with a clear victor: Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar, a spy thriller that had dominated the nominations going in, left the ceremony with 14 trophies. The film swept across technical categories with methodical precision—cinematography, sound design, editing, special effects, production design, background score, choreography, hairstyling and makeup, costume design, action, and dialogue all went to members of Dhurandhar's crew. Ranveer Singh took Best Actor for his performance in the film, and Aditya Dhar himself won Best Director, cementing what had been widely anticipated as a dominant night.
But the Best Film award went elsewhere. Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound, which had entered the evening with 15 nominations—the second-highest count after Dhurandhar's 24—claimed the night's most prestigious honor. The film, which had been shortlisted for the Academy Awards in the Best International Feature category, also won Best Writing for Story and Screenplay, and Shalini Vatsa took Best Supporting Actress for her work in it. Yami Gautam won Best Actress for her role in Suparn Verma's Haq, which itself won the ceremony's signature award for gender sensitivity.
The evening was hosted by Alia Bhatt, comedian Zakir Khan, and Saurabh Dwivedi, editor of The Indian Express's Hindi edition. Bhatt opened by noting that "the magic we see on screen is incomplete without the magicians off screen," a line that underscored the ceremony's stated commitment to honoring technical work alongside performance. Sunil Grover appeared as a comic impression of Aamir Khan, and the hosts took gentle jabs at previous editions of the Screen Awards, which had once included a category called the "Nothing To Hide Award." "We are trying to fix our mistakes," Bhatt said. "So, no senseless awards this time."
The OTT categories were dominated by Karan Tejpal's Stolen, which won Best OTT Film, Best Director for an OTT film, Best Script for an OTT film, and acting honors for both Abhishek Banerjee (male) and Sanya Malhotra (female). When Banerjee accepted his award, he joked that his "sources" had told him days earlier he wouldn't win. Dwivedi, from the stage, quipped that those days were gone—that the credible Chetak Screen Awards had returned, and sources no longer knew the outcomes in advance.
The ceremony also honored Bollywood's departed. Dharmendra, the legendary actor who died in 2025, was remembered in a special segment where screenwriter Javed Akhtar and director Ramesh Sippy shared memories. Akhtar recalled meeting Dharmendra when he was twenty and said the entire industry still loved him. "He was both dignified and humble," Akhtar said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Dharmendra's son, Bobby Deol, who accepted on his father's behalf. "He always wished that people would be happy," Bobby said, his voice thick with emotion. The ceremony also stood in silence to honor other cinema figures lost in 2025: Achyut Potdar, Asrani, Chandra Barot, Dheeraj Kumar, Kamini Kaushal, and Manoj Kumar.
The Chetak Screen Awards were structured around what the Indian Express Group positioned as a credible alternative to the crowded field of Indian film honors. The 53-member Screen Academy—comprising acclaimed filmmakers, artists, and cultural voices—selected nominees and winners through a rigorous process. Dr. Priya Jaikumar, chair of Cinema and Media Studies at USC's School of Cinematic Arts and scholar-in-residence at the Academy, developed detailed grading guidelines that members used to assess films on creativity, technical excellence, viewer connectivity, and innovation. Performance-based categories were also evaluated for authenticity. The ceremony was broadcast live on YouTube and SonyLIV, and aired on Sony Entertainment Television.
Mohit Suri's Saiyaara, a romantic musical that had revitalized Hindi cinema in 2025 by drawing audiences back to theaters, finished as the second-most-awarded film of the night with 17 nominations going in. The film's newcomers Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda won Breakthrough Actor awards. The song "Saiyaara Title Track" earned four trophies: Best Song, Best Playback Singer Male for Faheem Abdullah, and Best Playback Singer Female for Shreya Ghoshal. Gulzar won Best Lyrics for "Ul Julool Ishq" from Gustaakh Ishq. The evening included performances by rapper Badshah and singer Shahzad Ali with composer Ranjit Barot.
Citazioni salienti
We are trying to fix our mistakes. So, no senseless awards this time.— Alia Bhatt, host
He always wished that people would be happy.— Bobby Deol, accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of his father Dharmendra
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