Critics' Choice Awards 2026: Homebound, Black Warrant, The Ba***ds of Bollywood earn nominations; check full list of nominees

India’s first and only pan-India awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, announced nominations in films, web series, shorts and documentary categories on Tuesday. Vikramaditya Motwane’s Black Warrant leads with 7 nominations in the web series category, while Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound has earned six nods in the feature film category.

The 8th edition of the Critics’ Choice Awards will honour work across feature films, web series, and short films, marking the second consecutive year of recognising excellence in documentary filmmaking.

Leading the feature film nominations this year is Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound with six nominations, followed by three nominations for Rohan Parashuram Kanawade’s Sundance-winning Sabar Bonda and Raam Reddy’s Jugnuma. Anusha Rizvi’s The Great Shamsuddin Family, Mari Selvaraj’s Bison Kaalamaadan and the BAFTA-winning Manipuri film Boong received two nominations each.

In the web series category, Black Warrant emerged as the most-nominated title with seven nods, followed by Paatal Lok Season 2 with five nominations and The Ba***ds of Bollywood with four.

The Best Documentary category features Chaar Phool Hain Aur Duniya Hai, a poignant portrait of late Jnanpith Award–winning author Vinod Kumar Shukla, alongside Hot Docs winner I, Poppy. In the short film category, Aasmaani Jhoola and Maaybaapache Aashirwaad lead the nominations with five nods each.

The main awards ceremony, the Critics’ Choice Awards 2026, will also present the Extraordinary Contribution to Cinema Award to veteran actor Farida Jalal.

Here is the full list of nominees at the Critics’ Choice Awards 2026

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

Mohammed Ali Rukadikar for Aasmaani Jhoola(The Giant Wheel of Life)

Apurva Bardapurkar for Maaybaapache Aashirwaad (Blessings)

Yash Saraf for Moti

Aakash Chhabra for Nighiyaan Chhavan (Warm Shadows)

Samir Zaidi for Two Sinners

Best Actor

Aamir Aziz for Aasmaani Jhoola (The Giant Wheel of Life)

Suhas Shirsat for Maaybaapache Aashirwaad (Blessings)

Koosilab Sengupta for Moti

Sunny Hinduja for That’s A Wrap

Shardul Bhardwaj for Two Sinners

Best Actress

Smita Tambe for Maaybaapache Aashirwaad(Blessings)

Sheeba Chaddha for Nighiyaan Chhavan (Warm Shadows)

Snehalata Siddharth for Roses Are…

Piihu Sand for The Cycle

Yashaswini Dayama for Tumhari Baari Jo(Jo’s Turn)

Best Writing

Mohammed Ali Rukadikar, Keshav Naidu and Sarat T. Rao for Aasmaani Jhoola (The Giant Wheel of Life)

Apurva Bardapurkar for Maaybaapache Aashirwaad(Blessings)

Aakash Chhabra for Nighiyaan Chhavan (Warm Shadows)

Swati Das and Vinoo Choliparambil for Tumhari Baari Jo (Jo’s Turn)

Samir Zaidi for Two Sinners

Best Cinematography

Saurabh Suman for Aasmaani Jhoola (The Giant Wheel of Life)

Sachin Gadankush for Khooh Waala Ghar(Room at the Farm)

Rusha Bose for Moti

Vignesh S for Nighiyaan Chhavan (Warm Shadows)

Ajatshatru Singh for 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 S2

Perfect Family

The Ba***ds of Bollywood

Best Director

Vikramaditya Motwane, Satyanshu Singh, Arkesh Ajay, Rohin Raveendran Nair and Ambiecka Pandit for Black Warrant

Pushkar Sunil Mahabal for Black, White & Gray - Love Kills

Pankaj Kumar and Surya Balakrishnan for Khauf

Avinash Arun Dhaware for Paatal Lok S2

Aryan Khan for The Ba***ds of Bollywood

Best Actor

Zahan Kapoor for Black Warrant

Roshan Mathew for Kankhajura

Jaideep Ahlawat for Paatal Lok S2

Manoj Bajpayee for The Family Man S3

Amit Sial for The Hunt - The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case

Best Actress

Surveen Chawla for Criminal Justice S4

Shabana Azmi for Dabba Cartel

Monika Panwar for Khauf

Girija Oak Godbole for Perfect Family

Priyamani for The Family Man S3

Best Supporting Actor

Anurag Thakur for Black Warrant

Paramvir Singh Cheema for Black Warrant

Rahul Bhat for Black Warrant

Manoj Pahwa for Perfect Family

Raghav Juyal for The Ba***ds of Bollywood

Best Supporting Actress

Nimisha Sajayan for Dabba Cartel

Geetanjali Kulkarni for Khauf

Shalini Vatsa for Khauf

Tillotama Shome for Paatal Lok S2

Seema Pahwa for Perfect Family

Best Writing

Satyanshu Singh and Arkesh Ajay for Black Warrant

Pushkar Sunil Mahabal for Black, White & Gray - Love Kills

Sudip Sharma, Rahul Kanojia, Abhishek Banerjee and Tamal Sen for Paatal Lok S2

Aryan Khan, Bilal Siddiqi and Manav Chauhan for The Ba***ds of Bollywood

Nagesh Kukunoor, Rohit G. Banawlikar and Sriram Rajan for 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 for Boong

Neeraj Ghaywan for Homebound

Aranya Sahay for Humans in the Loop

Raam Reddy for Jugnuma (The Fable)

Jayant Digambar Somalkar for Sthal (A Match)

Best Actor

Mounesh Nataranga for Hebbuli Cut

Vishal Jethwa for Homebound

Mammootty for Kalamkaval

Basil Joseph for Ponman

Abhishek Banerjee for Stolen

Best Actress

Priyanka Bose for Agra

Geetha Kailasam for Angammal

Yami Gautam Dhar for Haq

Amruta Subhash for Jarann

Sharmila Tagore for Puratawn (The Ancient)

Best Supporting Actor

Pasupathy for Bison Kaalamaadan

Akshaye Khanna for Dhurandhar

Dhritiman Chatterjee for Putulnacher Itikatha(The Puppet's Tale)

Dileesh Pothan for Ronth

Boman Irani for The Mehta Boys

Best Supporting Actress

Shalini Vatsa for Homebound

Anita Date for Jarann

Lijomol Jose for Ponman

Sandhya Arakere for Su From So

Shreya Dhanwanthary for The Great Shamsuddin Family

Best Writing

Bahul Ramesh for Eko

Bheemarao and Anantha Shandreya for Hebbuli Cut

Basharat Peer, Neeraj Ghaywan, Sumit Roy, Varun Grover, and Shreedhar Dubey for Homebound

Rohan Parashuram Kanawade for Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)

Jayant Digambar Somalkar for Sthal (A Match)

Best Cinematography

Bahul Ramesh for Eko

Sunil Borkar for Jugnuma (The Fable)

Nimish Ravi for Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra

Sayak Bhattacharya for Putulnacher Itikatha (The Puppet's Tale)

Vikas Urs for Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)

Best Editing

Sooraj E. S. for Eko

Nitin Baid for Homebound

Chaman Chakko for Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra

Tinni Mitra for Putulnacher Itikatha (The Puppet's Tale)

Shreyas Beltangdy for Stolen

About Critics’ Choice Awards

The Critics’ Choice Awards (CCA) are voted on by 56 leading film critics from across the country, all members of the Film Critics Guild. The CCA will take place on March 24 in Mumbai this year. What sets the Critics’ Choice Awards apart is its pan-Indian jury of critics who watch and evaluate films, web series, documentaries, and short films across languages throughout the year. The awards have consistently championed emerging and creatively driven filmmakers, particularly those willing to take risks and push the boundaries of storytelling.