Aditya Dhar's film dominated the 26th IIFA Awards while Aneet Padda and Ahaan Panday picked up debutant and leading honours for Saiyaara, and the digital wing crowned Baramulla and The Bads of Bollywood.
The 26th IIFA Weekend & Awards handed out its winners list on Friday, and nobody came close to Dhurandhar. Aditya Dhar's film walked away with 12 trophies, picking up Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Ranveer Singh, Best Dialogue and Best Supporting Actor for Sanjay Dutt among them, according to the full list carried by DNA India and ABP Live.
Ranveer Singh's win in the leading actor category was widely expected given the film's run through the year, and Dhurandhar also cleaned up on the craft side. Vikash Nowlakha took Best Cinematography, Shivkumar V. Panicker won Best Editing, and Aditya Dhar himself picked up Best Screenplay and Best Story (Original) on top of directing honours. Akshaye Khanna was named Best Actor in a Negative Role for his turn in the same film.
Aneet Padda's Saiyaara had a big night too, even without the Best Picture trophy. Padda won Best Actress for her debut performance, and her co-star Ahaan Panday took Best Male Debut. Irshad Kamil won Best Lyrics for the film, and its music swept both playback singer categories, with Faheem Abdullah winning on the male side and Shreya Ghoshal picking up the female award for a reprise version of the title track. Rasha Thadani won Best Female Debut for Azaad, the only major win the film picked up.
Chhaava, the other heavyweight in the room, didn't touch the acting or direction categories but ran away with the technical ones. A.R. Rahman won Best Background Score, Alok De took Best Sound Mixing, and the visual effects award went to Assemblage Entertainment and Redefine for the same film. Homebound's writing team of Basharat Peer, Sumit Roy and Neeraj Ghaywan won Best Story (Adapted), and Avatar: Fire & Ash was named Best International Film.
The digital side told a different story
IIFA's Digital Awards, run alongside the main ceremony, spread the wealth a lot further. Baramulla took Best Picture and Best Story (Original) in the film category, while Stolen was recognised for direction and for Abhishek Banerjee's lead performance. Sanya Malhotra won for Mrs, and supporting honours went to Monika Panwar for Nishaanchi 2 and Avinash Tiwary for The Mehta Boys.
In series, The Ba**ds of Bollywood took Best Picture and got Aryan Khan a Best Direction trophy, with Anya Singh and Raghav Juyal winning supporting awards. Paatal Lok Season 2 wasn't far behind, with Jaideep Ahlawat and Tillotama Shome winning for lead performances and the show collecting four credited wins in the Best Story category. The Roshans won Best Docuseries, and The Traitors took the reality programming award.
IIFA has already set its next date. The 27th edition moves to Etihad Arena in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, scheduled for January 22-23, 2027, which gives Dhurandhar's rivals roughly 14 months to find something that can actually take it down.
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