The IIFA Awards 2026 winners have been announced, and Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar has emerged as the biggest winner of the year. The film swept 12 awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Ranveer Singh, making it the clear frontrunner of this edition.
Unlike previous years, IIFA announced the winners without holding an on-ground ceremony this time. The awards were declared ahead of the IIFA Awards 2027, which is scheduled to take place in Abu Dhabi.
Dhurandhar Sweeps Major Awards
Dhurandhar dominated both popular and technical categories. Aditya Dhar won Best Director, Best Original Story, Best Screenplay and Best Dialogues for the film, while Ranveer Singh took home Best Actor (Male) for his performance as Hamza Ali Mazari / Jaskirat Singh Rangi.
The film also won Best Supporting Actor for Sanjay Dutt, Best Performance in a Negative Role for Akshaye Khanna, Best Music Direction for Shashwat Sachdev, Best Cinematography for Vikash Nowlakha, Best Editing for Shivkumar V. Panicker and Best Sound Design for Bishwadeep Chatterjee.
Aneet Padda Wins Best Actress
Aneet Padda won Best Actress (Female) for her performance in Saiyaara. The film also won Best Lyrics for Irshad Kamil, Best Male Playback Singer for Faheem Abdullah and Best Female Playback Singer for Shreya Ghoshal.
Ahaan Panday, who starred alongside Aneet Padda in Saiyaara, won Best Male Debut for his performance in the film. Rasha Thadani won Best Female Debut for Azaad.
IIFA Awards 2026 Full Winners List
Popular Categories
- Best Picture: Dhurandhar — Jyoti Deshpande, Aditya Dhar and Lokesh Dhar
- Best International Film: Avatar: Fire & Ash — 20th Century Studios, Jon Landau and James Cameron
- Best Director: Aditya Dhar — Dhurandhar
- Best Actor (Male): Ranveer Singh — Dhurandhar
- Best Actor (Female): Aneet Padda — Saiyaara
- Best Supporting Actor (Male): Sanjay Dutt — Dhurandhar
- Best Supporting Actor (Female): Huma Qureshi — Jolly LLB 3
- Best Performance in a Negative Role: Akshaye Khanna — Dhurandhar
- Best Music Direction: Shashwat Sachdev — Dhurandhar
- Best Original Story: Aditya Dhar — Dhurandhar
- Best Adapted Story: Basharat Peer, Sumit Roy and Neeraj Ghaywan — Homebound
- Best Lyrics: Irshad Kamil — “Saiyaara” (Saiyaara)
- Best Male Playback Singer: Faheem Abdullah — “Saiyaara” (Saiyaara)
- Best Female Playback Singer: Shreya Ghoshal — “Saiyaara Reprise – Female” (Saiyaara)
Debut Categories
- Best Male Debut: Ahaan Panday — Saiyaara
- Best Female Debut: Rasha Thadani — Azaad
Technical Categories
- Best Cinematography: Vikash Nowlakha — Dhurandhar
- Best Screenplay: Aditya Dhar — Dhurandhar
- Best Dialogues: Aditya Dhar — Dhurandhar
- Best Editing: Shivkumar V. Panicker — Dhurandhar
- Best Choreography: Bosco Leslie Martis — “Aavan Jaavan” (War 2)
- Best Sound Design: Bishwadeep Chatterjee — Dhurandhar
- Best Sound Mixing: Alok De — Chhaava
- Best Background Score: A.R. Rahman — Chhaava
- Best Visual Effects: Assemblage Entertainment and Redefine — Chhaava
IIFA 2026 Digital Awards Highlights
In the digital category, Aryan Khan’s The Ba**ds of Bollywood* made a strong impact. The series won Best Picture and Best Direction, with Aryan Khan taking home the direction award.
Paatal Lok Season 2 also performed well, with Jaideep Ahlawat and Tillotama Shome winning for their leading performances. The series also won Best Story (Original) with four credited winners.
In the Others category, The Roshans won Best Docuseries/DocuFilm, while The Traitors was recognised in Best Reality/Non-Scripted. Ujwal Gupta won Best Title Track for “Number 1” from The Ba**ds of Bollywood*.
Regional and Independent Cinema Recognition
The IIFA Awards 2026 also recognised independent and regional cinema. Baramulla won Best Picture and Best Story (Original) in the film category, while Stolen earned recognition for direction and Abhishek Banerjee’s performance in a leading role.
Sanya Malhotra was honoured for her leading performance in Mrs, while Monika Panwar (Nishaanchi) and Avinash Tiwary (The Mehta Boys) won in the supporting performance categories.
What Happens Next
With the IIFA Awards 2026 winners now announced, all eyes are on the IIFA Awards 2027, which will be held in Abu Dhabi. Karan Johar, Varun Dhawan, Maniesh Paul and Ananya Panday are set to co-host the event.
The 2026 edition has set a high benchmark, with Dhurandhar emerging as the clear frontrunner and several new talents making their mark. Fans can expect an even bigger celebration next year.
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