Awards
Aamna Sharif, Ram Kapoor take top honours at Indian Telly Awards 2006; Maran conferred with Contribution to Television Award, Ekta inducted into Hall of Fame
MUMBAI: The Popular Nite of India’s premier awards for excellence in television, The Sixth Indian Telly Awards 2006 brought to you by Sony Entertainment Television, were held in Mumbai’s Chitrakut ground on 24th November with star-studded performances and attendance from the television and film fraternity.
The best actress award was bagged by Aamna Sharif for her performance as Kashish in Kahin To Hoga on Star Plus, while the best actor went to Ram Kapoor for his essaying of the role of Jai Walia in the Zee TV TRP topping drama Kasamh Se…
Ram and his co-star Prachi Desai (Bani) also won the couple of the year award for their on screen chemistry in the show. Prachi also shared the Fresh New Face of the Year (Female) Award with the Zee TV’s Saat Phere lead Rajashree Thakur.
Sun Network chairman Kalanithi Maran was conferred with the Contribution to Television award at the hands of Sony Entertainment Television CEO Kunal Dasgupta for driving and growing the southern Indian cable and satellite
television market through his Sun Network, India’s second largest television broadcasting group. Balaji Telefilms creative head Ekta Kapoor was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Ekta has been the creative brains behind the runaway success that Balaji Telefilms has achieved. Young professionals in television who have contributed a lot to the industry are inducted….
The evening was marked by energetic dance performances from Sangeeta Ghosh, Eijaz Khan and Akashdeep Saigal, Mona Singh, the Left Right Left cast (Arjun Bijlani(Alekh), Gazal Rai (Pooja), Vikas Manattala (Huda), Priyanka Bhassin (Naina), Harshad Chopra(Ali), Kunal Kapoor(Yudi), a stand up comic act from Great Indian Laughter Challenge runner up Naveen Prabhakar, a performance by debutantes of last year and this year – Barkha Bisht, Sanjeeda, Daljit Kaur – and by television couples – Surveen Chawla and Manish Goel (together on a Sony show), Mouni Roy and Pulkit Samrat (the hot new couple on Kyunkii’s new generation) , Divyanka Trivedi and Sharad Malhotra (the couple from Dulhan on Zee TV).
The awards evening was anchored by the leading face of television – Kiran Karmakar, Juhi Parmar, Anuj Saxena, Mona Singh and Manav Gohil, Shweta Kawatra, Ayub Khan, Renuka Shahane, Karishma Tanna and Gaurav Chopra.
Billed as the Indian equivalent of the Emmys, the Indian Tellys are the brainchild of founder Anil Wanvari, who is also a board member of the International Emmy Academy in New York, one of the few Indians to make it there.
Says Wanvari, “Television is evolving and the awards will also evolve. Our sincere effort is to make The Indian Telly Awards the industry’s benchmark because the awards have been created for the industry to recognise the excellence in the creative, business and technical spheres.”
The Sixth Indian Telly Awards were brought to you by Sony Entertainment Television, with the show slated to be telecast on 3 December at 8 pm on the channel.
The ground sponsors for the event were CNN Ibn, Ibn7, Zee Cinema and Times Now; the Radio partner Radio City 91.Fm; Outdoor Partner Bright Advertising; Multiplex Partner Fun Cinema; Print Partner Rajasthan Patrika and Mid-Day; Party Venue Partner Some Place Else; and Pr Partner CMCG.
Coming in January will be the he Technical Nite of the Indian Telly Awards.
Awards
Ajay Kakar to chair jury for ad:tech Honours Awards 2026
Industry leaders join jury as nominations surge for marketing tech awards
NEW DELHI: The ad:tech Honours Awards 2026 are gearing up for a bigger second edition, with Ajay Kakar, head of corporate branding at Adani Group, set to chair the jury for India’s technology-focused marketing awards.
Organised in partnership with the International Advertising Association India Chapter, the awards celebrate the growing influence of technology in shaping modern advertising and marketing outcomes. This year’s edition has drawn a strong response from across the industry, signalling rising momentum around innovation in marketing technology.
The organisers say the nominations reflect a wide range of ideas and approaches, highlighting how brands and agencies are increasingly leaning on platforms, tools and data to sharpen their campaigns and connect with audiences more effectively.
Leading the evaluation process, Kakar will head a jury made up of senior leaders from across brands, agencies and technology platforms.
The jury panel includes Amaresh Godbole, CEO, digital technology business at Publicis Groupe; Bishwajeet S, head of marketing and PR at Volkswagen India; Carol Goyal, executive director at Rediffusion and CEO of Aesthetic Intelligence Lab; Kushal Sanghvi, director at Komerz; Lara Balsara, executive director at Madison World; Rana Barua, group CEO India, sea and North Asia; Deepak Oram, senior vice president growth marketing and martech; and Priyanka Khaneja Gandhi, head of marketing and creative solutions at Amazon Ads India.
The ad:tech Honours Awards aim to recognise not just creative campaigns but the smart use of technology that delivers measurable impact and business results. Categories this year reflect the rapidly evolving digital landscape, covering areas such as artificial intelligence, data-driven marketing, content ecosystems, automation, martech and adtech integration, and commerce-led marketing.
The winners will be announced on 17 March 2026 at the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre in New Delhi during ad:tech New Delhi 2026. The event is expected to bring together leaders from brands, agencies, platforms, creators and technology partners for an evening celebrating the ideas and innovations shaping the future of marketing.iconductor industries.
