The award season 2021 continues as Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards honoured the best in film, television, music and the new addition, OTT on Saturday . From Deepika Padukone, Akshay Kumar and Sushmita Sen to Surbhi Chandna and Nora Fatehi, celebrated artistes took home awards for their work last year.
Deepika won the best actor (female) award for her performance in Meghna Gulzar's 'Chhapaak' that told the story of acid attack survivor Laxmi Aggarwal. Her co-star Vikrant Massey bagged the honour of best actor in a supporting role for his turn in the critically-acclaimed drama, penned by Atika Chohan.
Akshay Kumar was declared best actor (male) in the horror-comedy 'Laxmii', which was a remake of hit Tamil film 'Kanchana' (2011). Akshay's co-star in the film, Kiara Advani, won for her performance in the Netflix film Guilty.
Kiara took home critics choice best actor (female) for her role of a college girl, whose internalised trauma from being sexually abused as a kid takes the shape of misogyny when her boyfriend rapes their batchmate. 'Guilty' was directed by Ruchi Narain and produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions.
An ecstatic Kiara thanked the jury and her audience for the honour. "My First Critics choice Best Actress award for #Guilty đđź Thankyou for this prestigious honour. Thankyou @karanjohar @ruchinarain @somenmishra @apoorva1972 @dharmaticent @netflix_in and my entire team of Guilty! And to all you amazing people for rooting for me, my heart is so full," Kiara wrote on Instagram alongside a picture of her trophy.
Sushant Singh Rajput, who died by suicide last year, was conferred the critic's best actor (male) posthumously for his outstanding contribution to Hindi cinema. Sushant's last film was Nitesh Tiwari's hit friendship drama 'Chhichhore', in 2019.
The best film honour went to Ajay Devgn-Saif Ali Khan starrer 'Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior', which also ended up becoming the highest box-office grosser of 2020. Co-starring Kajol, the period film was directed by debutante Om Raut and produced by T-Series.
Anurag Basu was honoured as the best director for his black comedy 'Ludo', featuring an ensemble cast, including Abhishek Bachchan, Sanya Malhotra, Rajkummar Rao and Fatima Sana Shaikh. Radhika Madan bagged the best actor in a supporting role award for her performance in Homi Adajani's dramedy 'Angrezi Medium', co-starring late Irrfan Khan.
Surbhi Chandna and Dheeraj Dhoopar took home the best actor (female) and (male) awards for their stellar work on the small screen. Dheeraj's 'Kundali Bhagya' won the best television show honour.
Director Hansal Mehta's blockbuster show 'Scam 1992', starring Pratik Gandhi as the infamous stockbroker Harshad Mehta, unsurprisingly received the best series award.
Sushmita Sen bagged the trophy for best actor in a web-series (female) for her stunning performance in Disney Plus Hotstar show 'Aarya'. While Bobby Deol was declared the best actor in a web-series (male) for 'Ashram', directed by Prakash Jha.
Bobby, whose career has got a new lease of life with OTT, expressed his happiness through an Instagram post featuring his mother. "To be in this moment with my mother," he wrote alongside a picture of his mother.
Kunal Kemmu won the best actor in a comic role for his hilarious turn in last year comedy 'Lootcase'. The actor dedicated his win to the team of the film. Most versatile actor award was given to Kay Kay Menon.
It was a special night for Bobby Deol for more reasons than one as father and veteran actor Dharmendra was honoured for his contribution to Hindi cinema in a career that spanned several decades.
Nora Fatehi, who has consistently wowed the audience with her dance moves, was awarded the best performer at the ceremony. Award for outstanding contribution to literature in Indian cinema was given to Chetan Bhagat. 'Parasite' won best international feature film award while album of the year was awarded to 'Titliyaan'.