Mumbai, Mar 10: The finest talent from the worlds of Cinema and OTT came together under one roof for the News18 Showsha Reel Awards 2026 at JW Marriott, Mumbai, on March 7. Hosted by the charismatic duo of Maniesh Paul and Mini Mathur, the special evening honoured films, web series, artists, and creative voices whose work resonated with audiences over the past year. Guided by a panel of esteemed jury members, including Priyadarshan, Tanvi Azmi, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Mahima Chaudhry, Shruti Mahajan, and Saurabh Sachdeva, the News18 Showsha Reel Awards 2026 unfolded as a grand celebration of creativity, craft, and the enduring power of stories.
The grand finale began on a soulful high with Kailash Kher, whose powerful rendition of some of his most iconic songs set the perfect mood for the evening. The star-studded event was graced by the who’s who of the entertainment industry, including Madhuri Dixit, Manoj Bajpayee, Pankaj Tripathi, Shabana Azmi, Asha Parekh, Farida Jalal, Anupam Kher, Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda, Ishaan Khatter, Mona Singh, Sanya Malhotra, and Vishal Jethwa, among many others. Hailing the best of performances, movies, and web series released between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025, the ceremony was marked by palpable excitement across the room.
Among the biggest winners of the evening, Ishaan Khatter and Yami Gautam Dhar took home the Popular Choice Best Actor and Best Actress awards in films for their stellar performances in Homebound and Haq, respectively. In the web series category, Zahan Kapoor was awarded Best Actor (Male) for Black Warrant. At the same time, Madhuri Dixit bagged the award for Best Actor (Female) for her role in Mrs. Deshpande, marking one of the most celebrated wins of the night.
Accepting the honour for her widely appreciated performance as Mrs. Deshpande, Madhuri Dixit expressed,
“I’m truly blessed and very touched by this award. Mrs. Deshpande is very close to my heart because it is the story of an ordinary woman with extraordinary strength, and it reminds me of all the women who are resilient and powerful. We see them every day in our lives. I’d like to thank our director, our writer, and all my co-stars who believed in this story and performed with such sensitivity and honesty. And of course, last but not least, I’d like to thank my fans who have loved and supported me for so many years. It is because of them that I can bring these characters alive on screen with honesty and inspiration.”
The jury awards also recognised outstanding performances and storytelling across cinema and streaming platforms. Vishal Jethwa won the Best Actor (Male – Jury) award for Homebound, while Sanya Malhotra received the Best Actor (Female – Jury) award for her performance in Mrs. In the OTT category, Manoj Bajpayee bagged the Best Actor (Web Series – Jury) award for The Family Man Season 3, while Mona Singh was honoured with the Best Actress (Web Series – Jury) award for The Bads of Bollywood. Acknowledging creative excellence behind the camera, Reema Kagti won the Best Director (Jury) award for Superboys of Malegaon, while the Best Film (Jury) honour went to Homebound.
In the music category, the soundtrack of Saiyaara dominated the Popular Choice awards with composers Mithoon, Tanishk Bagchi, Vishal Mishra, Sachet-Parampara, Faheem Abdullah, Arslan Nizami and The Rish being recognised for Best Music. Additionally, Shilpa Rao won Best Singer (Female) for Gustaakh Ishq, while Faheem Abdullah won Best Singer (Male) for Saiyaara and Tere Ishk Mein.
The evening also celebrated standout performances across several categories. Vineet Kumar Singh won Best Supporting Actor (Male) for Chhaava and Nishaanchi, while Sheeba Chadha and Saumya Tandon were honoured in the Best Supporting Actor (Female) category for Haq and Dhurandhar, respectively. Saurabh Sachdeva won the award for Best Performance in a Negative Role for Dhadak 2, while Pankaj Tripathi took home the award for Best Performance in a Comic Role for Metro… In Dino.
One of the most memorable moments of the evening came when veteran actor Rakesh Bedi was bestowed with the Extraordinary Performance of the Year honour for Dhurandhar. After decades of bringing popular characters to life on screen, the actor received his career’s first award at the News18 Showsha Reel Awards 2026. Sharing a candid and heartfelt perspective on the recognition finally coming his way, he noted, “I have been working since 1979. My first film was released that year, though I passed out from FTII in 1976 and struggled for two or three years before that. At that time, awards rarely looked beyond heroes and heroines. Most honours went to the hero, heroine, or a few other big actors. I was nominated many times but never received an award. But, now, I feel there will be a string of them after this one.”
The awards also lauded rising stars and emerging talent shaping the next chapter of Indian cinema. Aaishvary Thackeray and Shubhangi Dutt won the Best Debut (Male and Female – Jury) awards for Nishaanchi and Tanvi The Great, respectively. Siddhant Chaturvedi received the Breakthrough Performance award for Dhadak 2, while Ananya Panday was honoured with the Outstanding Performance award for Kesari Chapter 2.
A major highlight of the night was the Star of the Year awards being presented to Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, celebrating their growing popularity and strong connection with audiences. Ahaan took the moment to reflect on the unexpected impact his film had on audiences, expressing, “I feel that I share this honour with some beautiful people I’ve met in the past seven or eight months since our film released. I share it with them – to this one man who came up to me with tears in his eyes and said he’s going to be a better husband to his wife after watching our movie, to this elderly lady who had just gone through a divorce and she decided to give love another chance, and just yesterday, at the Bangalore airport, a ground staff member who told me her boyfriend proposed to her after watching Saiyaara. I hope that with every year I can live up to this title, and I hope I keep bettering myself and doing work that makes my parents, myself, and the people I love proud.”
The Popular Choice Best Film award went to Dhurandhar, while Black Warrant emerged as the Best Web Series in the Popular Choice category. The awards ceremony also recognised excellence in casting, with Nandini Shrikent and Karan Mally winning the Best Casting Director (Web Series) award for The Bads of Bollywood.
In recognition of their legendary contribution to Indian cinema, Asha Parekh and Farida Jalal were honoured with the prestigious Reel Legend awards, while Shabana Azmi and Anupam Kher were felicitated with the Reel Icon awards.
With a distinguished jury, a star-studded gathering, and diverse award categories, the News18 Showsha Reel Awards once again emerged as a memorable celebration of storytelling and creative excellence. The evening served as a fitting tribute to the stories, performances, and talent that struck a chord with audiences across cinema and OTT.
