Terms & Conditions

The Awards	SCREEN AWARDS 2025 (“Awards”)
The Awards management team	The Indian Express (P) Limited (“TIEPL”)
SCREEN Academy	Shall consist of the Curator of SCREEN AWARDS Ms. Priyanka Sinha Jha and approximate fifty Members constituted by the Section 8 Company, SCREEN FOUNDATION
Panel	A group of varied panels/panelists selected by the Awards Management Team not limited to members of the Academy to whom entries in each/all category/categories shall be communicated. They shall then after evaluation/review of the entries on pre-defined evaluation parameters, shortlisted entries for the Screen Awards.
Registered trademarks	SCREEN ®, SCREEN AWARDS®,

Guidelines for the SCREEN ACADEMY MEMBERS [JURY] for the SCREEN AWARDS, 2025

ESSENCE & SANCTITY: The Concept of the Jury( Academy)-based awards as formulated by TIEPL for the Hindi film and Hindi audio-visual entertainment industry inclusive of feature length movies created for theatrical release or available only on OTT Platforms, shall at all times belong to and vest in TIEPL. The selection of the Academy members, shortlisting of entries, the screenings and selection process by the Academy members and the determination of winners shall be organized, managed, and facilitated by TIEPL with the assistance of the SCREEN Foundation. The categories of the SCREEN Awards which are to be awarded, and the categories are at present listed in Schedule “1”, may be varied, deleted, modified, or add to any of the category of the Awards. All Parties shall endeavor to preserve the integrity and sanctity of the Concept and organization of the SCREEN AWARDS.

ELIGILBILITY FOR THE AWARDS:

Hindi Films Released in Theatres:

Eligible entries shall include Hindi films and Hindi audiovisual entertainment in the form of full-length feature films (“Film”). The Film must be originally made in Hindi. Films dubbed in Hindi shall be ineligible.
The Film must have been theatrically released in India between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025 (both days inclusive).
The Film must have received a valid Censor Certificate.
If the film has been screened exclusively at film festival (s) without commercial theatrical release as mentioned in (2) above, it shall be ineligible.

OTT film

Eligible entries shall include full-length feature films created for, or available exclusively on, Over-The-Top platforms (“OTT Films”).
The OTT Film must have had a direct-to-digital release on an OTT platform between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025 (both days inclusive).
The OTT Film must be originally made in Hindi.
The OTT Film must be a standalone feature with a minimum runtime of 60 (sixty) minutes.
OTT Films with a prior or simultaneous theatrical release shall be ineligible under the OTT Film category.

General Eligibility

For the Best Film for Gender Sensitivity category, films released theatrically and/or on OTT platforms between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025 (both days inclusive) shall be eligible, subject to alignment with the category’s definition

The Lifetime Achievement Award is a non-voting special award and will be decided internally by the Awards Management Team.

All films released between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025 (both days inclusive) shall be deemed automatically eligible for consideration, and no separate entry or submission process shall be required.

(i) A Debut Director is a director whose first credited feature-length film as Director receives its first theatrical release during the awards period (January 01, 2025–December 31, 2025). This includes sole or co-directors, provided they are officially credited as “Director”.

(ii) A candidate is ineligible if they have had any prior credited theatrical feature-film directorial release (in any language/industry) before January 01, 2025.

(iii) Prior work as director in OTT-only films, web series/TV, short films, ads/music videos, or roles such as assistant/associate director does not disqualify the candidate, as long as they have no earlier theatrical directorial release.

(iv) Eligibility will be verified using official credits (on-screen credits / producer submission / official release records). In case of dispute, official credits prevail.

(i) A Breakthrough New Actor/Actress is a candidate who delivers their first prominent credited performance in a Hindi feature-length film (theatrical release or direct-to-digital/OTT premiere) released during the awards period (January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025)

A role will be treated as “prominent” if it meets at least one of the following objective tests (any one is sufficient):

a. The candidate is credited within the first and last billed cast in the on-screen credits or official platform listing; or
b. The candidate is named and credited (not an anonymous part) and is a story-relevant character (material contribution to plot/arc); or
c. The candidate is officially marketed as cast by the producer/platform (poster/trailer press kit/official announcements).

(ii) A candidate shall be ineligible if they have had any prior prominent credited adult acting role in a Hindi feature-length film (theatrical or OTT) released before January 1, 2025

Permitted prior credits (do not disqualify):

a. Prior acting work in other languages/industries (non-Hindi feature films), including lead roles, does not disqualify the candidate, provided clause (ii) is met for Hindi feature films.
b. Prior acting credits in short films, music videos, advertisements, web series/TV, or other non-feature formats do not disqualify the candidate.
c. Prior acting credits as a child artist shall not disqualify a candidate, provided that:

1. those roles were performed as a minor (under 18 years of age at the time of release), and
2. the awards-period role is the candidate’s first prominent credited adult role in a Hindi feature film in any capacity listed in clause (i).

(iii) General provisions

a. Eligibility applies to Hindi feature-length films only (theatrical + OTT).
b. A candidate may be considered for both Best Actor/Actress and Breakthrough New Actor/Actress in the same year, provided each performance independently meets the relevant criteria.
c. Eligibility will be determined based on official credited records (on-screen credits / producer submission / platform listing) and validated by the awards/audit team. In case of dispute, official credits prevail.

Films must comply with all applicable laws, certifications, and regulatory requirements prevailing in India at the time of release

Films predominantly made in Hindi shall be eligible; incidental use of other languages shall not render a film ineligible

In cases where multiple versions of the same film exist, including extended or director’s cuts, only the version commercially released during the eligibility period shall be considered for evaluation

Anthology films shall be considered as a single film unless otherwise specified by the Awards management

Films released simultaneously on theatrical and OTT platforms shall be evaluated only under theatrical categories and shall be ineligible for OTT Film categories

All films released within the eligibility period shall be deemed automatically eligible for consideration, and no separate submission or entry process shall be required

The SCREEN Academy shall constitute the Academy for the Awards, viz SCREEN AWARDS 2025

The list of shortlisted entries shall be circulated to all the SCREEN Academy, preferably by email. These shall come with instructions on how to cast your votes and hotline for clarifications. Each Member of the SCREEN Academy shall be required to cast his or her vote within a given period in strict adherence to the representations etc in C below.

Representations, Warranties, Assurances & Undertaking of each Member of SCREEN Academy:

To at all times treat all communications not limited to discussions, queries and voting relating to the shortlisted entries and the Awards, the process of voting, etc as strictly confidential; The formal announcement of shortlisted entries and /or Winners shall be done by the Awards Management Team and until such time they shall be treated as strictly confidential.
To ensure no extraneous and/or commercial considerations influence their voting; to ensure that they adhere to the highest standards of professionalism, ethics, and integrity.
Not to be part of lobbying or any clique and/or to give or receive any consideration, gift, favor etc for voting for any shortlisted entries.
To give to the Awards Management Team full, timely and confidential disclosure of information which in their bona fide opinion would disqualify any shortlisted entry.
To disclose the breach of any of the above representations, warranties, assurances, and undertakings.

It is expressly agreed that each Member of the SCREEN Academy shall have no objection to being identified and acknowledged as such as also his or her contribution to the Awards process. However, at no stage will the votes by each Member of the SCREEN Academy be disclosed in the process of collation and declaration of Winners, the intention being to endeavor to keep the same strictly confidential.

On receipt of the votes by the SCREEN Academy the same shall be collated with the assistance of Ernst & Young, reputed Chartered Accountants. The same shall be then handed over to Ms Priyanka Sinha Jha and the Awards Management Team, who shall confirm the Winners and declare the Winners. Such declaration may be announced at an Awards function or in such manner as may be decided by the Awards Management team.

SCHEDULE “1”