Sushant Singh Rajput wins Best Actor at Bollywood’s Dadasaheb Phalke film awards

The pandemic may have changed Bollywood entertainment as we know it, but that still didn’t stop for the awards season to kick-off in tinsel town with the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards hosted on February 20, honouring the best in film, television, music and web content.

While the affair itself was low-key, some of the biggest names in the industry did win awards, with the most notable honour being bestowed upon the late Sushant Singh Rajput who one Best Actor Critics Choice for his outstanding contribution to Hindi cinema. Rajput reportedly died by suicide on June 14 in Mumbai last year.

The Best Actor award was given to Akshay Kumar for ‘Laxmii’, last year’s horror-comedy that was written and directed by Raghava Lawrence and released on web via Disney+ Hotstar. The film did not receive favourable reviews from critics.

The Best Actress award was bagged by Deepika Padukone for ‘Chhapaak’ where she plays an acid attack survivor. The film was based on the life of Laxmi Agarwal and was well received by critics.

Kiara Advani, who was present at the ceremony, walked away with the award for Best Actress Critics for her role in the Netflix film ‘Guilty’, which she revealed on Instagram, was her first such honour.

The Best Film honour went to Ajay Devgn-Saif Ali Khan starrer ‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’. The film also saw Kajol play Devgn’s on-screen wife in the period film that was directed by debutante Om Raut.

Meanwhile, filmmaker Anurag Basu was honoured as the Best Director for his black comedy, ‘Ludo’, currently streaming on Netflix. The movie features an ensemble cast, including Abhishek Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh.

Relative newcomer Radhika Madan won Best Actor in a Supporting Role award for her performance in Homi Adajani’s ‘Angrezi Medium’, co-starring late Irrfan Khan.

The Best Actor in a Supporting Role was given to ‘Chhapaak’ star Vikrant Massey.

There were other big wins of the night as well with Kunal Kemmu winning Best Actor in a Comic Role for his turn in the comedy ‘Lootcase’.

‘Street Dancer 3D’ actress Nora Fatehi was awarded the ‘Performer of the Year’ award, who looked stunning in a mint green sari.

Sushmita Sen predictably won the award for Best Actress in a web series female for her role in the Disney+ Hotstar show ‘Aarya’, which has won her numerous awards already.

Bobby Deol is also facing a career renaissance on digital after winning Best Actor in a web series male for his role in ‘Ashram’, directed by Prakash Jha. The actor posted an image on Instagram with his mother, while he shared his happiness with his fans. “To be in this moment with my mother,” he wrote.

Director Hansal Mehta’s show ‘Scam 1992’, starring Pratik Gandhi as the stockbroker Harshad Mehta, received the Best Series award on the night.

Surbhi Chandna (pictured) and Dheeraj Dhoopar took home the Best Actor (female) and (male) awards for their work on the small screen. Dhoopar’s ‘Kundali Bhagya’ won the Best Television Show honour.

Several other Bollywood stars were also in attendance at the event, including Mouni Roy, Daisy Shah (pictured), Bhumika Chawla and more.