The Film Critics Guild and GroupM Motion Entertainment have announced the winners of the Critics’ Choice Awards 2025, recognizing the finest achievements in Indian cinema across feature films, short films, documentaries, and web series. This year’s awards celebrated a diverse range of storytelling, with All We Imagine As Light and Amar Singh Chamkila emerging as the night’s biggest winners.
Feature Film Category
Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light won Best Feature Film, reaffirming its impact on contemporary Indian cinema. The film also bagged the Best Director award for Kapadia and Best Cinematography for Ranabir Das.
Let’s give it up for the winners of the #CriticsChoiceAward for Best Feature Film – #AllWeImagineAsLight!
A tender, nuanced and compassionate portrait of urban connection & unexpected sisterhood that the critics are proud to regard as the Best Feature Film from 2024.#CCA2025 pic.twitter.com/KXpX1Yb4QS— Critics’ Choice Awards India (@CriticsChoiceIn) March 26, 2025
Diljit Dosanjh’s stellar portrayal in Imtiaz Ali’s Amar Singh Chamkila earned him the Best Actor award. The film, a biopic of Punjab’s legendary musician, has received widespread praise for its authenticity and emotional depth.
Let’s give it up for the winner of the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actor – Diljit Dosanjh for his electrifying and deeply committed performance in #AmarSinghChamkila.#CCA2025 #CriticsChoiceAwards #FilmCriticsGuild pic.twitter.com/IDRRRVvaei
— Critics’ Choice Awards India (@CriticsChoiceIn) March 26, 2025
Darshana Rajendran was honored as Best Actress for her moving performance in Paradise, while Ravi Kishan and Kani Kusruti won in the supporting acting categories for Laapataa Ladies and Girls Will Be Girls, respectively. Girls Will Be Girls also received the Gender Sensitivity Award, underlining its progressive narrative.
A huge round of applause for Ravi Kishan for winning the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actor for his outstanding performance in Laapataa Ladies. #CriticsChoiceAwards #CCA2025 #FilmCriticsGuild @ravikishann pic.twitter.com/jzlpcmpdIL
— Critics’ Choice Awards India (@CriticsChoiceIn) March 26, 2025
Anand Ekarshi won Best Writing for Aattam, while Best Editing went to Shivkumar V. Panicker for the action-packed Kill.
Anand Ekarshi is awarded the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Writing – Feature Film for Aattam—a script that interrogates and illuminates with exceptional clarity.#CriticsChoiceAwards #CCA2025 #FilmCriticsGuild pic.twitter.com/rKbvxXVztU
— Critics’ Choice Awards India (@CriticsChoiceIn) March 26, 2025
Web Series Category: ‘Poacher’ Dominates
Richie Mehta’s Poacher dominated the web series section, winning Best Web Series, Best Director, and multiple acting awards. Barun Sobti won Best Actor for Raat Jawaan Hai, while Nimisha Sajayan was named Best Actress for Poacher. The series also saw Dibyendu Bhattacharya and Kani Kusruti bag Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress awards, respectively.
And the Critics’ Choice Award for the Best Web Series goes to #Poacher! This hard-hitting eco-thriller raised vital questions about crime, conservation, and conscience, all told with powerful, unflinching storytelling.#CriticsChoiceAwards #CCA2025 #FilmCriticsGuild pic.twitter.com/RnOqgmh1V1
— Critics’ Choice Awards India (@CriticsChoiceIn) March 26, 2025
Short Film & Documentary Winners
The short film Obur swept multiple awards, including Best Short Film, Best Director (Faraz Ali), Best Writing, and Best Cinematography (Anand Bansal). Harish Khanna and Jyoti Dogra were named Best Actor and Best Actress in the short film category for their performances in Jal Tu Jalaal Tu and Taak (Tracker).
In the documentary category, Nocturnes won Best Documentary, highlighting the growing prominence of non-fiction storytelling in Indian cinema.
