OTTplay Awards 2025: Manoj Bajpayee, Imtiaz Ali, Kajol and Jyotika win big at a night of pan-Indian OTT excellence

The OTTplay Awards 2025 honoured the crème de la crème of India’s booming digital entertainment industry, bringing together the finest talents from the OTT space. Held at JW Marriott, Mumbai, on March 22, the event truly embodied its tagline, ‘One Nation, One OTT Award,’ as stars from across the country came together to celebrate storytelling in the digital era in an unforgettable night, hosted by Aparshakti Khurana and Kubbra Sait.

The night was a spectacle of talent and glamour, with over 80 celebrities, including Manoj Bajpayee, Jaideep Ahlawat, Rajkummar Rao, Jyotika, Nimisha Sajayan, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Sriimurali, Kajol, Hina Khan, Kani Kusruti, Avinash Tiwary, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwary, Vedhika, Raghav Juyal, Imtiaz Ali, Kunal Kohli, Anu Malik, and Aditi Rao Hydari, gracing the event with their presence.

Honouring the best of OTT

The third edition of the OTTplay Awards celebrated outstanding achievements across OTT films and series, felicitating critically acclaimed projects such as Panchayat, Girls Will Be Girls, Freedom at Midnight, Paatal Lok, Poacher, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack and Black Warrant.

Manoj Bajpayee and Anupam Kher were awarded Best Actor (Male) – Popular and Critics’, respectively, for their performances in Despatch and Vijay 69 and Signature, while Kajol (Do Patti) and Parvathy Thiruvothu (Manorathangal) took home the trophies for Best Actor (Female) in the two categories for OTT movies.

Girls Will Be Girls won Best Movie, and Imtiaz Ali was named Best Director (Film) for Amar Singh Chamkila. Kajol’s award for Do Patti carried special significance, as her Fanaa director Kunal Kohli noted that she joined an elite list of global actors who have won Best Actor awards across four decades.

In the web series segment, Jaideep Ahlawat and Raghav Juyal were adjudged Best Actor (Male) – Critics and Popular, respectively, while Aditi Rao Hydari won the Best Actor (Female) - Popular for Heeramandi. Sunny Kaushal’s chilling act in Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba earned him the Best Actor in a Negative Role award.

Southern stars made their mark as well. Kani Kusruti, celebrated for her work in multiple projects, was named Versatile Performer of the Year. One of the highlights was when Jyotika, who won Best Supporting Actor (Female) for Dabba Cartel, presented her co-star Nimisha Sajayan the award for Best Actor (Female) – Critics for Poacher – and that too in fluent Marathi, winning cheers from the audience.

Kannada star Sriimurali took home the Trailblazer of the Year award for Bagheera, and Priya Mani won Best Actor (Female) in a Comedy for Bhamakaalapam 2. Pradeep Maddali shared the Best Director (Series) for Vikkatakavi with Freedom at Midnight maker Nikkhil Advani, while Neeraj Madhav and Abishek Kumar earned accolades for their performances in Love Under Construction and Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam, respectively. Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar was also honoured for her contributions to Kannada cinema.

A night of memorable moments

The evening was filled with nostalgia and camaraderie. The Family Man team of Manoj Bajpayee, Priya Mani, Neeraj Madhav and Jaideep Ahlawat, who plays a key role in the show’s upcoming season, met up at the event. Manoj also reconnected with filmmaker Sanjay Gupta and surprised Nimisha Sajayan with words of admiration for her work.

While Rana Daggubati couldn’t make it due to an injury on the sets of Rana Naidu Season 2, wife Miheeka Daggubati accepted the Best Talk Show Host award on his behalf for The Rana Daggubati Show.

The night was filled with unforgettable moments, from Anupam Kher mesmerising the audience with a live masterclass, performing a scene from his 1984 film Saaransh, to Raghav Juyal setting the stage on fire with his signature slow-motion dance. Aditi Rao Hydari captivated everyone with a soulful rendition of Lag Jaa Gale, while Abishek Kumar had the crowd in splits with his hilarious roast of the hosts.

The OTTplay Awards 2025 is co-presented by Real Juice and Kuhl, powered by StockGro, and held in association with HT City, with Zoom as the TV broadcast partner. Flipkart Spoyl is the exclusive style partner, D Pauls the travel partner, Amante the premium lingerie partner, and Propshop the real estate partner. Aussie Lamb and Krishiinet Fiber join as special partners, UDigital as the ISP and IPTV partner, and Hyperlink as the event partner.

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