During the esteemed Chetak Screen Awards 2026, Sheetal Iqbal Sharma and Smriti Chauhan were recognized with the Best Costume award for their outstanding designs in the films Chhaava and Dhurandhar, respectively. Other contenders in this category included renowned designers Manish Malhotra and Shivank Vikram Kapoor for Gustaakh Ishq, Rohit Chaturvedi for Homebound, and Bhawna Sharma for Superboys of Malegaon.
The awards ceremony was graced by Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt, along with comedians Zakir Khan and Sunil Grover, and prominent journalist Saurabh Dwivedi, who serves as the Hindi Editor for The Indian Express.
In her acceptance speech, Smriti Chauhan expressed her gratitude to the director of Dhurandhar, saying, “This is my first award. Thank you very much. I want to thank Aditya sir for trusting me and the entire team of Dhurandhar, especially the costume department and my tailors, as I stand here accepting this on behalf of all of you.”
Similarly, Sheetal Iqbal Sharma acknowledged the director of Chhaava, stating, “Thank you to my favorite director Laxman Utekar and to my entire costume team. They were the best.”
For further updates on the Chetak Screen Awards 2026, be sure to check the live coverage.
The Chetak Screen Awards are among India’s most prestigious film accolades, established by The Indian Express Group. These awards are founded on the principle that artistic achievements should be honored based on merit, integrity, and the respect of peers. The nominees and awardees for the 2026 edition were selected by the Screen Academy, an independent, non-profit organization consisting of 53 distinguished filmmakers, artists, and cultural figures.
The Screen Academy includes notable industry names such as Prosenjit Chatterjee, RS Prasanna, Rajiv Menon, Rajkumar Hirani, Resul Pookutty, Shoojit Sircar, Deepa Mehta, Sriram Raghavan, Ram Madhvani, Guneet Monga Kapoor, John Abraham, Kabir Khan, Karan Johar, Mukesh Chhabra, Payal Kapadia, Rima Das, and Vidya Balan, among others.
Dr. Priya Jaikumar, who is the Chair of Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and a scholar-in-residence at the Screen Academy, played a pivotal role in this year’s selection process by developing a comprehensive scoring rubric for the academy members. After an initial round of shortlisting, the films were evaluated through a structured voting mechanism.
You can watch the Chetak Screen Awards 2026 live on YouTube, Sony Entertainment Television, and Sony LIV.
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