Mumbai, March 24 Neeraj Ghaywan's "Homebound" emerged as the biggest winner at the 8th Critics' Choice Awards on Tuesday, winning four major awards, including best film, best director, best actor for Vishal Jethwa, and best supporting actress for Shalini Vatsa.
The annual awards, presented by the Film Critics Guild in association with WPP Motion Entertainment, honor excellence in feature films, web series, short films, and documentaries, with voting conducted by 56 film critics from across the country.
In the web series category, Vikramaditya Motwane's crime thriller "Black Warrant" dominated with four wins – best web series, best director, best supporting actor for Rahul Bhat, and best writing for Satyanshu Singh and Arkesh Ajay.
Priyanka Bose won Best Actress in the feature film category for "Agra", while Pasupathy claimed Best Supporting Actor for "Bison Kaalamaadan" – his second Critics' Choice win.
Jaideep Ahlawat ("Paatal Lok Season 2") and Monika Panwar ("Khauf") won the best actor and best actress honors, respectively, in the web series category, with Tillotama Shome winning best supporting actress for "Paatal Lok Season 2".
The writing award in the feature film category went to Rohan Parashuram Kanawade for "Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears)", the Sundance-winning film that had received three nominations.
The cinematography and editing awards went to Sunil Borkar ("Jugnuma") and Chaman Chakko ("Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra") respectively. The FCG Gender Sensitivity Award was presented to "Sthal".
In short films, filmmaker Apurva Bardapurkar's "Maaybaapache Aashirwaad (Blessings)" led with three wins – best film, best director, and best writing.
Sunny Hinduja ("That's A Wrap") and Sheeba Chaddha ("Nighiyaan Chhavan") won acting honors in the category.
Vivek Chaudhary's "I, Poppy", a Hot Docs winner, claimed the Best Documentary prize.
Veteran actor Farida Jalal, who was recently seen in Anusha Rizvi's "The Great Shamsuddin Family", was conferred the Extraordinary Contribution to Cinema Award, celebrating a career spanning decades and genres.
Accepting the best director award, Ghaywan said the recognition meant a great deal to him and the entire "Homebound" team.
“Film criticism encourages us to learn, reflect, and improve, so this award truly means a lot to me and the entire Homebound team. 'Homebound' comes from the lives and experiences of people across our country who are often overlooked and unseen.
"It is a tribute to their spirit to keep going in the face of dwindling hope," Ghaywan said.