Mumbai: The glittering evening of Sunday saw the grand spectacle of the Streaming Academy Awards, hosted to recognise and celebrate outstanding original content from streaming platforms across Hindi and regional languages.
Organised as part of SIIMA (South Indian International Movie Awards), the event attracted a constellation of celebrities and industry stalwarts eager to applaud the best in web series and films directly streamed on OTT platforms.
Celebrities like Aditi Rao Hydari, Rakul Preet, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ishan Khattar, and Rana Daggubati, among others, graced the event, each adding to the star-studded affair with their presence and accolades.
Aditi Rao Hydari, resplendent in black designer attire, was awarded Best Popular Actress for her role in 'Taj: Divided by Blood'.
Expressing her gratitude, she spoke to ANI and said, "I always believe that we are an Indian film industry, and we are stronger together. So it's wonderful to be here. I'm very grateful for this. And I want to thank the Nexa Streaming Academy Awards for honouring me."
Rakul Preet who won Best Actress, Web Original Female Hindi for her film 'Chhatriwali,' highlighted the film's message on sex education, sharing her joy, "I'm very happy that our film got so much love."
Sobhita Dhulipala, who received the NEXA Streaming Academy Awards for Best Actor, Series Female Critics Hindi, for her role in Zoya Akhtar's 'Made in Heaven 2,' expressed her encouragement and motivation, attributing her success to the well-written character and talented creators behind the series.
"It feels very encouraging, it feels supportive and I feel motivated because the truth is that, as an actor, I got lucky with such an amazingly written character, so the credits go to the filmmakers and writers of this show," she said in a conversation with ANI.
Ishan Khatter, honoured for 'Pippa,' acknowledged the collaborative effort that led to the film's success, particularly thanking the Indian Armoured Corps for their contribution.
"It was a collective win for Pippa and I'm very proud of it. I'm very happy to be here representing the film. and representing the Indian Armoured Corps, because of whom we were able to make this film. They had a big hand in making this film successful. So, thank you very much. Jai Hind," he said in a conversation with ANI.
Rana Daggubati, who received NEXA Streaming Academy Awards for Best Actor, series (male) Hindi for his Netflix series 'Rana Naidu,' expressed heartfelt gratitude towards the organisers and his team for their support in his maiden series role.
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"It's my first series and the first award for the first role I played. I'm always very, very grateful to Nexa. to Saima, to everyone who's brought this together. So thank you. Thank you to Netflix. Thank you to Karan and everyone who believed in me. Thank you," he said.
The Streaming Academy Awards, organised as part of SIIMA, feature a total of 48 categories: 24 dedicated to Hindi content and 24 to regional languages.
According to a statement, Brinda Prasad Adusumilli, Chairperson of SIIMA, emphasised the event's role in recognising excellence across diverse linguistic streams on digital platforms.
She stated, "Post-pandemic, digital has become the primary source of content consumption, and content consumption on streaming platforms has become language-agnostic. We at SIIMA believe in building an event celebrating the best of streaming platforms, irrespective of the language in which the content is produced. We are happy to partner with NEXA in this new initiative, as NEXA strongly believes in celebrating excellence."
The awards ceremony took place in Mumbai, marking a significant occasion for the streaming industry and its contributors.
—ANI