Nominations for the first-ever Critics Choice Film Awards were announced by actor Vidya Balan and filmmaker Zoya Akhtar at an event in Mumbai. An initiative of the Film Critics Guild and Motion Content Group, the awards aim to recognise and honour the best of Indian cinema.
The pan-Indian platform aims to cover cinema across 8 Indian languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali for the year 2018.
Zoya Akhtar reminisced about the time when her debut film Luck By Chance did not do very well at the box-office, she survives that difficult period from the support she got from the critics. Vidya Balan also added that while she may not like her film’s criticism she always listens to and takes feedback from critics very seriously.
Here is the complete nominations list
Best Production Design
Rita Ghosh: Manto
Shubhrato Chakraborty and Amit Ray: Padmaavat
Nitin Zihani Choudhary and Rakesh Yadav: Tumbbad
Best Song
Aahista: Laila Majnu
Bol Ke Lab Azad Hai: Manto
Dilbaro: Raazi
Halla: Manmarziyaan
Paintra: Mukkabaaz
Best Background Score
Daniel B. George: AndhaDhun
Amit Trivedi: Manmarziyaan
Zespa Kyd: Tumbbad
Best Editor
Pooja Ladha Surti: AndhDhun
Nitin Baid: Raazi
Sanyukta Kaza: Tumbbad
Best Writer
Sriram Raghavan, Arijit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Surti, Yogesh Chandekar, Hemanth Rao: AndhaDhun
Shantanu Shrivastava and Akshat Ghidial: Badhaai Ho
Raj Nidimoru, Krishna D.K., and Sumit Arora: Stree
Regional films that were nomiated in various candidates included Marathi films like Naal, Lathe Joshi, Redu, Gujarati films: Ddhh, Reva, Ventilator. Bengali nominations included Ekje Chilo Raja, Upa, Rainbow Jelly and Telugu films consisted of Keraf Knacharapalem, Mahanati, and Rangasthalam.
Best Films
(Kannada)
Ammachi Yemba Nenapu
Nathicharami
Ondalla Eradalla
(Tamil)
Merku Thodarchi Malai
Pariyerum Perumal
Vada Chennai
(Malayalam)
Ee Ma Yau
Eeda
Sudani from Nigeria
(Hindi)
AndhaDhun
Raazi
Badhaai Ho
October
Tumbbad
Best Supporting Actor( Female)
Gitanjali Rao: October
Rasika Duggal: Manto
Surekha Sikhri: Badhaai Ho
Swara Bhasker: Veere Di Wedding
Yamini Das: Sui Dhaaga
Best Supporting Actor( Male)
Abhishek Bachchan: Manmarziyaan
Jaideep Alhawat: Raazi
Manoj Pahwa: Mulk
Pankaj Tripathi: Stree
Vicky Kaushal: Sanju
Best Actor in a Leading role( Female)
Alia Bhatt: Raazi
Anushka Sharma: Pari
Neena Gupta: Badhaai Ho
Taapsee Pannu: Manmarziyaan
Tabu for AndhaDhun
Best Actor in a Leading role( Male)
Ayushmann Khurrana: AndhaDhun
Gajaraj Rao: Badhaai Ho
Ranbir Kapoor: Sanju
Ranveer Singh: Padmaavat
Vineet Singh: Mukkabaaz
Best Director
Amit Sharma: Badhaai Ho
Meghna Gulzar: Raazi
Aadesh Prasad and Rahi Anil Barve: Tumbbad
Shoojit Sircar: October
Sriram Raghavan: AndhaDhun
Present at the event were also film critics Anupama Chopra, Rajeev Masand, Bhawana Somaaya, Raja Sen, Shubha Shetty Saha, Bharathi Pradhan, Udita Jhunjhunwala, Ajay Bramhatmaj and Rahul Desai.
This is the second time Film Critics Guild and Motion Content Group have collaborated, earlier both had announced Short Film Awards.
The Critics Choice film awards are the first prominent awards body after the prestigious National Film awards, to award filmmaking in eight major languages.
The main awards ceremony will take place in Mumbai on 21st April, 2019.