The nominations for the 2025 Filmfare Awards are out, and Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies has emerged as the clear frontrunner, sweeping across major categories including Best Film, Director, Critics’ Awards, Acting, Music, and Technical sections. The film's emotional, small-town narrative — combined with its critical and commercial success — has resonated widely, making it the year’s most-celebrated contender.

Following closely are Stree 2 and Maidaan, both of which have bagged impressive nominations across acting, direction, music, and technical categories. Article 370 too has made a strong showing, particularly in Best Film, Best Director (Aditya Suhas Jambhale), Screenplay, and Acting nods. Meanwhile, the high-octane action drama Kill stood out in the action and technical spaces, receiving praise for its choreography, sound, and cinematography.

In the Best Film category, Laapataa Ladies is up against Stree 2, Article 370, Kill, and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. Rao is also competing for Best Director alongside Amar Kaushik (Stree 2), Nikhil Nagesh Bhat (Kill), Anees Bazmee (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3), and Aditya Suhas Jambhale (Article 370).

Notably, Laapataa Ladies leads the Critics’ Awards nominations too, joined by Merry Christmas, Maidaan, The Buckingham Murders, and I Want to Talk.

In the acting categories, Yami Gautam (Article 370), Alia Bhatt (Jigra), Kareena Kapoor Khan (Crew), and Shraddha Kapoor (Stree 2) are in the race for Best Actress. For the men, Ajay Devgn (Maidaan), Hrithik Roshan (Fighter), Rajkummar Rao (Stree 2), and Abhishek Bachchan (I Want to Talk) lead the nominations.

Laapataa Ladies also shines in music, scoring Best Album (Ram Sampath) and multiple nominations in Lyrics and Playback categories.

The female-led narratives saw strong representation this year, with Jigra, Crew, and Merry Christmas securing key nominations — especially in acting and critics’ categories. With a diverse mix of commercial blockbusters and critical darlings, this year’s Filmfare Awards reflect the evolving face of Hindi cinema — one that is bolder, more inclusive, and creatively ambitious.