Awards
Hero Honda-ITA Awards: Industry’s second TV awards mark their presence
The Indian television business witnessed its second awards ceremony for this year yesterday – The Hero Honda-Indian Television Academy Awards. (Indiantelevision Dot Com Pvt Ltd, which runs indiantelevision.com and is in no way connected with the Indian Television Academy, actually organised the first set of television awards on 6 July 2001 this year – The Indian Telly Awards 2001.)
The Hero Honda-ITA awards ceremony held at the Renaissance Hotel & Convention Canter, Powai, Mumbai was attended by the leading lights of the television and film industry. (Estimates put the attendance figure at about 1,000-1,500). Among the film stars who attended the show were Madhuri Dixit, Raveena Tandon, Sanjay Dutt, David Dhawan and Subhash Ghai. Among the TV stars who attended were Siddharth Kak, Renuka Shahane, Tabssum, Saakshi Tanwar, Ram Kapoor and Gautami Gadgil.
Information & Broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj, member of Parliament Shatrughan Sinha, Prasar Bharati CEO Anil Baijal were among the government representatives who turned up.
The awards were split up into 44 categories: 12 popular, 24 jury awards, and eight technical awards. The show started with the technical awards. The winners:
| Sub-category | Winner | Serial/show/channel |
|---|---|---|
|
Best make-up |
Ashok Pangam |
The Great Warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji |
|
Best costumes |
Pradeep Muley |
The Great Warrior-Chhatrapati Shivaji |
|
Best Audiography |
Suhas Kulkarni/Ramesh Rathod |
Maa Shakti |
|
Best Art Direction |
Nitin Desai |
The Great Warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji |
|
Best Editing |
NDTV |
IT India Tomorrow |
|
Best visual effects |
Cinevista Communications |
Sshhh..Kohi Hai-Vidhyut Electricity |
|
Best cinematography |
Sudeep Chatterjee |
Ankahee |
|
Best Live coverage sports |
TransWorld International |
Four Square Challenge & Rafter Cross |
It was followed by the Jury Awards. The winners are as below:
| Sub-category | Winner | Serial/show/channel/interstitials |
|---|---|---|
| Best children’s programme |
Rila O’Brien/R.P. Chatterjee |
Bournvita Quiz Contest |
| Best cookery show | Sanjeev & Alyona Kapoor | Khana Khazana |
| Best interstitials/fillers | Sahara India | Global refugees |
| Best Title music/song track | Khayyam/Naqsh Lyallpuri | Milan |
| Best dialogues | Ashwani Dhir | Office Office |
| Best mini-series | Deepak Tijori | Thriller At 10-Fareb/X-Zone Milan |
| Best director -comedy | Rajiv Mehra | Office Office |
| Best director-drama | Ajai Sinha | Justujoo |
| Best show packaging | NDTV | Reality Bites in Pakistan |
| Best Teleplay | Chaula Shah/Ashok Patole/Ishaan Trivedi | Justujoo |
| Best Talk/Chat show | Rachna Prasad | We the People |
| Best Music & film based show | Moving Pictures | Ek Kalakar Ki Kahani |
| Best Game/Quiz Show | Siddhartha Basu | Kaun Banega Crorepati |
| Best Mythological/Historical serial | Vinay Apte | The Great Warrior -Chhatrapati Shivaji |
| Best Serial comedy | Smita Chakravarty | Ji Mantriji |
| Best serial -drama | Sangita Sinha/Saurabh Agarwal | Justujoo |
| Best Anchor-Sports | Sonali Chander | Sports Tonight |
| Best Anchor-News & Current Affairs | Rajat Sharma | Janta Ki Adalat |
| Best Anchor-(Music & Films) | Shekhar Suman | Movers & Shakers |
| Best anchor-game quiz | Amitabh Bachchan | Kaun Banega Crorepati |
| Best Actress -Comedy | Archana Puran Singh | Aasmaan Say Tapki |
| Best Actor-Comeday | Farooque Sheikh | Ji Mantriji |
| Best Actress-Drama | Pallavi Joshi | Justujoo |
| Best Actor -Drama | Kanwaljeet Singh | Saans |
The Popular Awards were won by the following:
| Sub-category | Winner | Serial/show/channel |
|---|---|---|
| Best Music Channel | MTV | MTV |
| Best sports presenter/commentator | Harsha Bhogle |
——
|
| Best anchor-based show | Siddhartha Basu | Kaun Banega Crorepati |
| Best Star Cast | Shobha & Ektaa Kapoor | Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi |
| Best Sports channel | Star Sports | Star Sports |
| Best News Channel | Aaj Tak | Aaj Tak |
| Best Host/Hostess | Amitabh Bachchan | Kaun Banega Crorepati |
| Best Actress | Smriti Malhotra Irani | Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi |
| Best Actor | Amar Upadhyay | Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi |
| Best Entertainment Channel | Star Plus | Star Plus |
| Best Actor/actress in a comic role | Pankaj Kapur | Office Office |
| Best Serial | Shobha & Ektaa Kapoor | Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi |
The other notable awards given away were the milestones awards which sought to honour serials of yesteryear.
|
Milestone Awards
|
|---|
| Hum Log |
| Buniyaad |
| Ramayan |
| Mahabharat |
| 1983 Cricket World Cup |
| Phool Khile Hai Gulshan Gulshan |
| Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi |
| Karamchand |
| Surabhi |
| Tara |
The show, which began nearly two hours later than the scheduled 7:30 pm, began with a Russian ballet. Veteran actor Kabir Bedi was the first of the show’s several anchors, who hosted the seven segments of the awards. Archana Puran Singh and Parmeet Sethi, Mandira Bedi, Niki Aneja and Rohit Roy, Ranjeet and Sandhya Mridul, Shekhar Suman, Aly Khan (who also hosted The Indian Telly 2001 Awards in July 2001) were the other sub-anchors roped in to host the other segments.
Take offs on the TRP ratings, Doordarshan’s programming and spoofs on TV talk shows peppered the show, in between segments. Current hit Adnan Sami stole the show with his brilliant vocals and lightning fingers.
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.
