Overview
- In Tamil categories, Amaran won Best Film with Rajkumar Periasamy taking Best Director and Sai Pallavi winning Best Actress, while Anurag Kashyap earned Best Villain for Maharaja.
- Malayalam honours saw Manjummel Boys named Best Film, Blessy winning Best Director for Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life, and Prithviraj Sukumaran taking Best Actor with Urvashi winning Best Actress.
- Day one recognised Telugu and Kannada talent, with Pushpa 2: The Rule securing Best Actor (Allu Arjun), Best Actress (Rashmika Mandanna), Best Director (Sukumar) and Best Music (Devi Sri Prasad).
- Kalki 2898 AD claimed Telugu Best Film and key acting prizes, including Amitabh Bachchan for Supporting Actor, Anna Ben for Supporting Actress and Kamal Haasan for Villain.
- SIIMA, staged at Dubai Exhibition Centre (Expo City), also announced critics, debut and technical winners, a Special Award for V Harikrishna, and special honours for Sivakumar and Trisha.