The 71st Filmfare Awards 2025 took place on Saturday night at the EKA Arena by Kankaria Lake in Ahmedabad, marking one of the biggest nights in Bollywood. The evening, filled with laughter, nostalgia, and high-energy performances, was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan, Karan Johar, and Maniesh Paul.
The standout of the night was Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies, which dominated the awards with a record-tying 13 wins, including Best Film and Best Director, becoming the most-decorated movie of the year alongside the previous record-holder, Gully Boy. The film stars Pratibha Ranta, Nitanshi Goel, and Chhaya Kadam.
Major awards and winners included:
- Best Film: Laapataa Ladies
- Best Director: Kiran Rao (Laapataa Ladies)
- Best Actor (Male): Abhishek Bachchan (I Want To Talk) & Kartik Aaryan (Chandu Champion) – shared award
- Best Actor (Female): Alia Bhatt (Jigra)
- Critics’ Best Actor (Male): Rajkummar Rao (Srikanth)
- Critics’ Best Actor (Female): Pratibha Ranta (Laapataa Ladies)
- Best Supporting Actor (Male): Ravi Kishan (Laapataa Ladies)
- Best Supporting Actor (Female): Chhaya Kadam (Laapataa Ladies)
- Critics’ Best Film: Shoojit Sircar (I Want To Talk)
- Best Story: Aditya Dhar and Monal Thakkar (Article 370)
- Best Screenplay: Sneha Desai (Laapataa Ladies)
- Best Adapted Screenplay: Ritesh Shah and Tushar Sheetal Jain (I Want To Talk)
- Best Dialogue: Sneha Desai (Laapataa Ladies)
- Best Music Album: Ram Sampath (Laapataa Ladies)
- Best Lyrics: Prashant Pandey (Sajni from Laapataa Ladies)
- Best Playback Singer (Male): Arijit Singh (Sajni from Laapataa Ladies)
- Best Playback Singer (Female): Madhubanti Bagchi (Aaj Ki Raat from Stree 2)
- Best Background Score: Ram Sampath (Laapataa Ladies)
- Best Sound Design: Subash Sahoo (Kill)
- Best Editing: Shivkumar V. Panicker (Kill)
- Best Cinematography: Rafey Mehmood (Kill)
- Best Production Design: Mayur Sharma (Kill)
- Best Action: Seayoung Oh and Parvez Shaikh (Kill)
- Best Costume: Darshan Jalan (Laapataa Ladies)
- Best VFX: ReDefine (Munjya)
- Best Choreography: Bosco-Caesar (Tauba Tauba from Bad Newz)
- Best Debut Actor (Female): Nitanshi Goel (Laapataa Ladies)
- Best Debut Actor (Male): Lakshya (Kill)
- Best Debut Director: Kunal Kemmu (Madgaon Express) & Aditya Suhas Jambhale (Article 370)
- R.D. Burman Award for Upcoming Talent in Music: Achint Thakkar (Jigra, Mr & Mrs Mahi)
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Zeenat Aman and Shyam Benegal (posthumously)
- Cine Icon Award: Dilip Kumar, Nutan, and Meena Kumari
The evening celebrated the best of Bollywood talent, blending iconic performances, outstanding filmmaking, and musical achievements, with Laapataa Ladies clearly emerging as the dominant highlight of Filmfare 2025.
