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‘Authentic, grand and truly special’: Anupam Kher shares inside moments from Chetak Screen Awards 2026
Anupam Kher shared a heartfelt note after Chetak Screen Awards 2026, calling the comeback ‘grand’ and ‘authentic.' He added that meeting the Dilkhush School students was the highlight of his evening.
Anupam Kher at Chetak Screen Awards 2026
The Chetak Screen Awards 2026 returned in grand style after a seven-year hiatus, with Alia Bhatt, Farah Khan, Sunil Grover, Zakir Khan and Saurabh Dwivedi hosting the star-studded evening. The ceremony saw a strong turnout from industry heavyweights including Vicky Kaushal, Karan Johar and Bobby Deol.
Amid the celebrations, veteran actor Anupam Kher shared pictures from the night with a note calling the event “grand,” “authentic,” and deeply special.
Taking to Instagram after the ceremony, Kher wrote, “WELCOME BACK SCREEN AWARDS! AFTER SEVEN LONG YEARS!🏆😍
What a grand evening—beautifully curated, incredibly professional, and so authentic in its spirit. It truly felt special to be a part of it. 😍👏
But the highlight of my evening was meeting my wonderful friends from Dilkhush Special School, who acted in Sitare Zameen Par. Their joy, their honesty, and their sheer love for life lit up the entire room. They reminded me once again why stories like these matter.❤️🩹❤️🩹🥹
Met some of my favourite people too! Including the wonderful Mrs. #NitaAmbani and my darling @aliaabhatt! Heartiest congratulations to #AnantGoenka and #PriyankaJha and the entire team of @ieentertainment and @indianexpress for bringing back the awards with such dignity and excellence.😎🫡🎬Here’s to celebrating cinema, talent, and the magic that connects us all. Congratulations to all nominees and winners ! Jai Ho! 🎬”
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Winners of Chetak Screen Awards 2026
Anupam Kher also presented the Breakthrough New Actor (Male) award, which was won by Ahaan Panday for Saiyaara. Ahaan faced stiff competition from Mohit Agarwal (Agra), Aaman Devgan (Azaad), Samuel Abiola Robinson (Dilli Dark) and Aishvary Thackeray (Nishaanchi). His Saiyaara co-actor Aneet Padda took home the Breakthrough New Actor (Female) award.
Among the biggest winners of the night was Dhurandhar, which swept the ceremony with 14 awards, including Best Actor (Male) for Ranveer Singh, Best Director for Aditya Dhar and Best Supporting Actor (Male) for Akshaye Khanna. The film also dominated technical categories such as editing, sound design, cinematography and action, and shared the Best Costume award with Chhaava.
Yami Gautam won Best Actor (Female) for Haq and the film, directed by Suparn Verma, also won Best Film for Gender Sensitivity. Meanwhile, Homebound by Neeraj Ghaywan emerged as another major winner, taking home Best Film along with awards for writing and Best Supporting Actor (Female) for Shalini Vatsa.
The ceremony also paid tribute to veteran actor Dharmendra with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Javed Akhtar alongside Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and filmmaker Ramesh Sippy. The award was received by his son Bobby Deol.
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In the OTT category, Stolen, directed by Karan Tejpal, dominated by winning four awards, including Best Film, Best Actor for Abhishek Banerjee, and Best Script. Sanya Malhotra won Best OTT Actor (Female) for Mrs., a remake of The Great Indian Kitchen.
About Chetak Screen Awards 2026
The Chetak Screen Awards, presented by The Indian Express Group, are widely regarded as one of India’s most trusted film honours, recognising excellence through a process rooted in fairness and peer evaluation. The winners are determined by the Screen Academy, an independent, not-for-profit collective of 53 prominent filmmakers, artistes and cultural voices.
Once the nominations are finalised, Academy members vote through a detailed and structured system. This process is guided by an evaluation model developed by Priya Jaikumar of the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, which looks at creative vision, technical craft, audience impact and innovation, while performances are assessed for authenticity.
The Academy itself represents a diverse mix of voices from across the industry, with members including Shoojit Sircar, Deepa Mehta, Sriram Raghavan, Ram Madhvani, Guneet Monga Kapoor, John Abraham, Kabir Khan, Karan Johar, Mukesh Chhabra, Payal Kapadia, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Rajkumar Hirani, Resul Pookutty, Rima Das and Vidya Balan, among others.
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