Hindi
Nitanshi Goel receives an IMDb STARmeter Award
Mumbai: IMDb (www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities, presented an IMDb ‘Breakout Star’ STARmeter Award to Laapataa Ladies star Nitanshi Goel. The award recognizes stars who are strong performers on the Popular Indian Celebrities list on the IMDb app. It charts the page views of the more than 250 million monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide and has proven to be a keenly accurate predictor of stars who are about to have a breakthrough career moment. At 16, Goel is the youngest IMDb ‘Breakout Star’ STARmeter Award recipient to-date.
Goel stars in Kiran Rao’s comedy-drama film Laapataa Ladies and Amit Ravindernath Sharma’s biographical sports drama Maidaan. After the former’s streaming release in April, Goel ranked in the top 10 of the Popular Indian Celebrities list thrice, including reaching the top spot last week and the number one spot this week. Laapataa Ladies currently holds the No. 25 spot on the Top Rated Indian Movies list, with an IMDb user rating of 8.5/10. Goel’s earlier credits include M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Thapki Pyar Ki, and Daayan.
“Thank you, IMDb, for honoring me with an IMDb ‘Breakout Star’ STARmeter Award,” said Goel. “It happens to be my first award for Laapataa Ladies, and I just found out that I am also the youngest actor to receive this award. I’m still trying to process that! Thank you for making this truly special.”
View Goel’s award presentation video here. IMDb users can also add web series and movies from Goel’s filmography and other titles to their IMDb Watchlist at www.imdb.com/watchlist.
Previous IMDb ‘Breakout Star’ STARmeter Award recipients include Medha Shankr, Bhuvan Arora, Angira Dhar, Adarsh Gourav, Ashley Park, Natasha Bharadwaj, Ayo Edebiri, and Regé-Jean Page. Learn more about the IMDb STARmeter Awards at www.imdb.com/starmeterawards.
Hindi
Shekhar Suman opens acting academy in Mumbai
The veteran actor-presenter launches SSFA, promising immersive, mentorship-led training for aspiring actors and storytellers
Mumbai: Forty years in front of the camera, and Shekhar Suman still isn’t done. The actor, host, writer and director, one of Indian entertainment’s most restless polymaths, is now training his sights on the next generation, launching the Shekhar Suman Film Academy (SSFA) in Mumbai on 22nd April 2026. Registrations for the inaugural batch are already open.
SSFA pitches itself squarely against formula-driven acting schools, leading with an intensive three-month programme that Suman says he personally designed and will largely conduct himself. The curriculum blends voice and speech work, emotional access, body awareness and camera technique with the Linklater Voice Method, film language and on-set discipline, and rounds off with a student film, giving trainees their first taste of a real set.
Masterclasses with actors, casting directors and filmmakers sit alongside the core course. The academy is conceived as a platform that will eventually sprawl into screenwriting, direction, cinematography, music production and post-production: a full creative ecosystem rather than a single acting school.
“For me, this academy is not just an institution. It is a very personal way of giving back to the craft that has given me everything,” said Suman. “Over the years, acting has taught me discipline, imagination, resilience, and the importance of truth in performance. Through this academy, I hope to create something that goes beyond training and becomes a true creative journey for every student who walks in.”
Behind the scenes, the academy is backed by GBM Studios. Dharmesh Sangani, founder and visionary, is the driving force, bringing what the academy describes as “a focused approach to creating meaningful opportunities within the industry.” Adhyayan Suman, founder and director and Shekhar’s son, adds a performer’s perspective honed across acting, music and direction. Ekant Babani, partner and chief operating officer, handles strategy and operations.
Entry is deliberately low-barrier. No prior training is needed: applicants sit a basic self-audition test, shifting the focus firmly to potential rather than polish. The academy says it aims to stay accessible while delivering a premium, hands-on experience.
In a country where acting schools multiply almost as fast as OTT platforms, Suman’s personal stamp and his willingness to stand in the room and teach may be the sharpest edge SSFA has. For those ready to test that promise, the curtain is already up. Apply at shekharsumanfilmacademy.com
