Subedaar wins India's Best Feature Film honour at Asian Academy Creative Awards national round

Subedaar has been named India's Best Feature Film national winner at the Asian Academy Creative Awards, placing the Anil Kapoor-led action-drama into the competition's international round. Variety reported that Subedaar was among 335 national winners across 18 nations and territories and 39 categories, with the eventual grand winners set to be named at the awards gala at Singapore's Capitol Theatre in December.

The result puts Subedaar alongside national feature-film winners from elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, including The Shadow's Edge for Chinese Mainland, Variety reported. Bollywood Hungama also reported individual recognition for the Indian film, with Kapoor nominated in Best Actor in a Leading Role and director Suresh Triveni nominated for Best Direction (Feature Film).

Key facts from the national round

• Variety reported that Subedaar won Best Feature Film for India at the Asian Academy Creative Awards national round.
• The Shadow's Edge, fronted by Jackie Chan, won Best Feature Film for Chinese Mainland, according to Variety.
• Variety said 335 national winners were named across 18 nations and territories and 39 categories.
• The national winners advance to an international round before the grand winners are named in Singapore in December.
• Bollywood Hungama reported that Anil Kapoor earned a Best Actor in a Leading Role nomination for Subedaar.
• Bollywood Hungama also reported that Suresh Triveni was nominated for Best Direction (Feature Film).

Subedaar enters the international round

Variety reported that the Asian Academy Creative Awards operate through a two-stage judging system. In the first round, a jury of senior industry figures drawn from television networks, streaming services, production companies, distributors, buyers and screen agencies scores entries at national level.

The successful national entries are then scored again in the international round to determine the grand winners, Variety said. This year's jurors came from 38 countries, placing the national results within a wider judging process before the December gala at Singapore's Capitol Theatre.

For Subedaar, the Best Feature Film result means the Indian title has cleared that first stage. The film is led by Kapoor as retired soldier Subedaar Arjun Maurya, according to Bollywood Hungama, and follows its central character as he adjusts to civilian life while the story combines action with the emotional challenges he faces.

Subedaar's recognition across categories

Category	Recognition reported
Best Feature Film	Variety named Subedaar the national winner for India.
Best Actor in a Leading Role	Bollywood Hungama reported Anil Kapoor's nomination for his performance as Subedaar Arjun Maurya.
Best Direction (Feature Film)	Bollywood Hungama reported Suresh Triveni's nomination for directing Subedaar.

Kapoor marked the acting recognition in a social-media post cited by Bollywood Hungama. He called it “A very special moment in my journey” and said he was honoured to be nominated in the leading-actor category while representing India. He also thanked the film's team and those who had supported it.

Bollywood Hungama reported that Kapoor also addressed Triveni's directing recognition, telling the filmmaker that “this one means even more to me because of the journey we shared making it”. The two nominations add individual recognition to the film's national Best Feature Film result.

A large field of national winners

The scale of the awards was reflected in the wider national results. Variety reported that 335 winners emerged from 18 nations and territories across 39 categories. Awards chair Beverley McGarvey, president and streaming lead at Paramount ANZ, said entries were level with last year's total and characterised the national-winner field as the world's biggest showcase of Asia-Pacific content.

McGarvey also said the region's stories “are becoming more confident, more distinctive and more influential” both in their domestic markets and with audiences around the world, Variety reported. Her comments came as the awards moved the national winners towards a second round involving a jury pool drawn from 38 countries.

At company level, Variety reported that Mediacorp led the national round with 23 wins. Prime Video India and Astro Malaysia secured 19 each, while CNN collected 15.

Other titles with multiple national wins

Indian content also registered across several categories beyond Subedaar. Variety reported that Season 3 of The Family Man collected four wins. The result added to Prime Video India's broader tally of 19 national wins.

Chinese drama The Lead recorded more category wins than any other title, taking six, Variety reported. Those honours included Best Actress in a Leading Role for Liu Haocun, although the Best Drama Series award went to Legend of the Magnate.

Japan's Song of the Samurai collected five category wins, Variety said, but Best Drama Series in Japan went to Alice in Borderland. Non won Best Actress for Miss King.

The range of results underlines the two-layer structure of the awards: national recognition establishes which entry represents its territory in a category, after which those entries are assessed again for the grand awards. Subedaar therefore moves forward as India's Best Feature Film national winner rather than ending its awards run with the national result.

Anil Kapoor's role at the centre of Subedaar

Bollywood Hungama described Subedaar as an action-drama in which Kapoor plays retired soldier Subedaar Arjun Maurya. The film follows Maurya's adjustment to civilian life, combining physical action with the emotional difficulties confronting its central character.

The performance adds another recognised role to a career that Bollywood Hungama said has spanned more than four decades in Hindi cinema. The outlet cited Mr. India and Nayak among Kapoor's Hindi-film credits and Slumdog Millionaire among his international work.

His nomination and Triveni's directing recognition sit beside the film's Best Feature Film national win as separate strands of the same awards showing. Kapoor's social-media response focused on representing India and on the collaborative work behind the film, while his message to Triveni emphasised the shared journey of making Subedaar.

What happens next at the Asian Academy Creative Awards

Variety reported that the national winners now proceed to the international round, where the same competition moves into a second judging phase to select grand winners. The gala final will take place at Singapore's Capitol Theatre in December.

That process means Subedaar will be judged beyond its Indian national category result as part of an international field. The awards' jury composition spans senior figures from networks, streaming companies, production outfits, distributors, buyers and screen agencies, with jurors from 38 countries involved this year, according to Variety.

For the Indian film, the national round has already produced a defined set of distinctions: Best Feature Film for the title, a leading-actor nomination for Kapoor and a feature-film directing nomination for Triveni. Those results place Subedaar among the Indian projects carrying national recognition into the next phase of the Asian Academy Creative Awards.

Frequently asked questions

What did Subedaar win at the Asian Academy Creative Awards?

Variety reported that Subedaar won Best Feature Film for India in the national round. The film now advances to the international stage of the competition.

Was Anil Kapoor recognised for Subedaar?

Bollywood Hungama reported that Anil Kapoor was nominated in Best Actor in a Leading Role for playing retired soldier Subedaar Arjun Maurya. Kapoor said on social media that representing India through the recognition was a special moment in his journey.

Was director Suresh Triveni nominated?

Bollywood Hungama reported that Suresh Triveni received a nomination for Best Direction (Feature Film) for Subedaar. Kapoor marked Triveni's recognition by referring to the journey they shared while making the film.

When will the Asian Academy Creative Awards grand winners be named?

Variety reported that the national winners move into an international judging round before the grand winners are announced. The final gala is set for Singapore's Capitol Theatre in December.