Critics’ Choice Awards 2026 nominations list: The nominations for the Critics’ Choice Awards 2026 were unveiled on Tuesday (March 10). Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound has emerged as the frontrunner, securing six nominations across multiple categories and leading the overall list of contenders.
The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on March 24 in Mumbai, where filmmakers, actors and industry professionals from across the country will gather to celebrate outstanding achievements in Indian cinema and streaming content.
Critics’ Choice Awards 2026 nominations list
In the feature film category, Homebound dominates the nominations chart with six nods. It is followed by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade’s Sabar Bonda and Raam Reddy’s Jugnuma, both of which have earned three nominations each. Several other acclaimed films have also received recognition this year. The Great Shamsuddin Family, Bison Kaalamaadan and the BAFTA-winning Manipuri film Boong have secured two nominations each.
Check out the full list below!
Short film nominees
Best short film
- Aasmaani Jhoola (The Giant Wheel of Life)
- Direct Recruitment
- Maaybaapache Aashirwaad (Blessings)
- Nighiyaan Chhavan (Warm Shadows)
- Tumhari Baari Jo (Jo’s Turn)
Best director (short film)
- Mohammed Ali Rukadikar — Aasmaani Jhoola (The Giant Wheel of Life)
- Apurva Bardapurkar — Maaybaapache Aashirwaad (Blessings)
- Yash Saraf — Moti
- Aakash Chhabra — Nighiyaan Chhavan (Warm Shadows)
- Samir Zaidi — Two Sinners
Best actor (short film)
- Aamir Aziz — Aasmaani Jhoola (The Giant Wheel of Life)
- Suhas Shirsat — Maaybaapache Aashirwaad (Blessings)
- Koosilab Sengupta — Moti
- Sunny Hinduja — That’s A Wrap
- Shardul Bhardwaj — Two Sinners
Best actress (short film)
- Smita Tambe — Maaybaapache Aashirwaad (Blessings)
- Sheeba Chaddha — Nighiyaan Chhavan (Warm Shadows)
- Snehalata Siddharth — Roses Are
- Piihu Sand — The Cycle
- Yashaswini Dayama — Tumhari Baari Jo (Jo’s Turn)
Best writing (short film)
- Mohammed Ali Rukadikar, Keshav Naidu and Sarat T. Rao — Aasmaani Jhoola (The Giant Wheel of Life)
- Apurva Bardapurkar — Maaybaapache Aashirwaad (Blessings)
- Aakash Chhabra — Nighiyaan Chhavan (Warm Shadows)
- Swati Das and Vinoo Choliparambil — Tumhari Baari Jo (Jo’s Turn)
- Samir Zaidi — Two Sinners
Best cinematography (short film)
- Saurabh Suman — Aasmaani Jhoola (The Giant Wheel of Life)
- Sachin Gadankush — Khooh Waala Ghar (Room at the Farm)
- Rusha Bose — Moti
- Vignesh S — Nighiyaan Chhavan (Warm Shadows)
- Ajatshatru Singh — Two Sinners
Documentary nominees
Best documentary
- 1PB Mein Sufiyana Qalam (Music in a Village Named 1PB)
- Chaar Phool Hain Aur Duniya Hai
- I, Poppy
- Loving Karma
- Marriage Cops
Web series nominees
Best web series
- Black Warrant
- Black, White & Gray – Love Kills
- Paatal Lok 2
- Perfect Family
- The Ba**ds of Bollywood*
Best director (web series)
- Vikramaditya Motwane, Satyanshu Singh, Arkesh Ajay, Rohin Raveendran Nair and Ambiecka Pandit — Black Warrant
- Pushkar Sunil Mahabal — Black, White & Gray – Love Kills
- Pankaj Kumar and Surya Balakrishnan — Khauf
- Avinash Arun Dhaware — Paatal Lok 2
- Aryan Khan — The Ba**ds of Bollywood*
Best actor (web series)
- Zahan Kapoor — Black Warrant
- Roshan Mathew — Kankhajura
- Jaideep Ahlawat — Paatal Lok 2
- Manoj Bajpayee — The Family Man 3
- Amit Sial — The Hunt – The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case
Best actress (web series)
- Surveen Chawla — Criminal Justice 4
- Shabana Azmi — Dabba Cartel
- Monika Panwar — Khauf
- Girija Oak Godbole — Perfect Family
- Priyamani — The Family Man 3
Best supporting actor (web series)
- Anurag Thakur — Black Warrant
- Paramvir Singh Cheema — Black Warrant
- Rahul Bhat — Black Warrant
- Manoj Pahwa — Perfect Family
- Raghav Juyal — The Ba**ds of Bollywood*
Best supporting actress (web series)
- Nimisha Sajayan — Dabba Cartel
- Geetanjali Kulkarni — Khauf
- Shalini Vatsa — Khauf
- Tillotama Shome — Paatal Lok S2
- Seema Pahwa — Perfect Family
Best writing (web series)
- Satyanshu Singh and Arkesh Ajay — Black Warrant
- Pushkar Sunil Mahabal — Black, White & Gray – Love Kills
- Sudip Sharma, Rahul Kanojia, Abhishek Banerjee and Tamal Sen — Paatal Lok S2
- Aryan Khan, Bilal Siddiqi and Manav Chauhan — The Ba**ds of Bollywood*
- Nagesh Kukunoor, Rohit G. Banawlikar and Sriram Rajan — The Hunt – The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case
Feature film nominees
Best film
- Bison Kaalamaadan
- Boong
- Homebound
- Humans in the Loop
- Jugnuma (The Fable)
- Ponman
- Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)
- Sthal (A Match)
- Su from So
- The Great Shamsuddin Family
Best director
- Lakshmipriya Devi — Boong
- Neeraj Ghaywan — Homebound
- Aranya Sahay — Humans in the Loop
- Raam Reddy — Jugnuma (The Fable)
- Jayant Digambar Somalkar — Sthal (A Match)
Best actor
- Mounesh Nataranga — Hebbuli Cut
- Vishal Jethwa — Homebound
- Mammootty — Kalamkaval
- Basil Joseph — Ponman
- Abhishek Banerjee — Stolen
Best actress
- Priyanka Bose — Agra
- Geetha Kailasam — Angammal
- Yami Gautam Dhar — Haq
- Amruta Subhash — Jarann
- Sharmila Tagore — Puratawn (The Ancient)
Best supporting actor
- Pasupathy — Bison Kaalamaadan
- Akshaye Khanna — Dhurandhar
- Dhritiman Chatterjee — Putulnacher Itikatha (The Puppet’s Tale)
- Dileesh Pothan — Ronth
- Boman Irani — The Mehta Boys
Best supporting actress
- Shalini Vatsa — Homebound
- Anita Date — Jarann
- Lijomol Jose — Ponman
- Sandhya Arakere — Su From So
- Shreya Dhanwanthary — The Great Shamsuddin Family
Best writing
- Bahul Ramesh — Eko
- Bheemarao and Anantha Shandreya — Hebbuli Cut
- Basharat Peer, Neeraj Ghaywan, Sumit Roy, Varun Grover and Shreedhar Dubey — Homebound
- Rohan Parashuram Kanawade — Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)
- Jayant Digambar Somalkar — Sthal (A Match)
Best cinematography
- Bahul Ramesh — Eko
- Sunil Borkar — Jugnuma (The Fable)
- Nimish Ravi — Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra
- Sayak Bhattacharya — Putulnacher Itikatha (The Puppet’s Tale)
- Vikas Urs — Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)
Best editing
- Sooraj E. S. — Eko
- Nitin Baid — Homebound
- Chaman Chakko — Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra
- Tinni Mitra — Putulnacher Itikatha (The Puppet’s Tale)
- Shreyas Beltangdy — Stolen