The Editorial Page: How to fast-track reservation for women in Parliament — a roadmap 10 MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2026 JOuRNALISm of COuRAGE KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES ₹6.00 (₹12 in North East states, ₹20 in Andaman) l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A CHETAK SCREEN AWARDS 2026 Dhurandhar sweeps Bags 14 awards, including Best Actor (Male) and Best Director; Best Film goes to Homebound; Yami Gautam Dhar is Best Actor (Female) for Haq TRUMP’S TUESDAY ULTIMATUM ON HORMUz APPROACHES US rescues airman; Trump goes ballistic, drops the f-bomb Officer hid in mountain crevice as US and Iran forces fought to get to him Phil Stewart & Menna AlaaElDin Washington, Cairo, April 5 Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Reliance Foundation Chairperson Nita Mukesh Ambani and producer Karan Johar with the team of Homebound, which won the Chetak Screen Awards 2026 in the Best Film category, in Mumbai on Sunday. PRAVEEN KHANNA Heena Khandelwal ThEwINNErs Mumbai, April 5 l BOLLYWOODBLOCKBUSTER Dhurandhar swept the Chetak Screen Awards 2026 with 14 winsataglitteringceremonyon Sunday, including Best Actor (Male) for Ranveer Singh, Best Director for Aditya Dhar and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) for Akshaye Khanna. The film dominated the technical categories too, winning awards for editing, sound design, special effects, cinematography, production design, background score, action, hairstyling and make-up. It shared the Best Costume award with another blockbuster Chhaava. Haq, Suparn Verma’s film documenting the landmark ShahBanocase,wonBestActor (Female) for Yami Gautam Dhar’s portrayal of Shah Bano, and Best Film for Gender Sensitivity. BEST DIRECTOR: Aditya Dhar, Dhurandhar BEST ACTION: Dhurandhar BEST ACTOR (MALE)- OTT fILM: Abhishek Banerjee, Stolen BEST ACTOR (fEMALE) -OTT fILM: Sanya Malhotra, Mrs BEST fILM : BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (MALE): Akshaye The evening’s other significantrecognitions,includingfor BestFilm,wenttoNeerajGhaywan’s Homebound, inspired by a true story of friendship and tragedy during the Covid lockdown. On stage to receive the awardwastheentireteam,from director Ghaywan and lead actors Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa to producer Karan Johar and Adar Poonawala, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Homebound BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (fEMALE): Shalini BEST ACTOR (MALE): BEST ACTOR (fEMALE): Yami Tejpal, Stolen Khanna, Dhurandhar Vatsa, Homebound Ranveer Singh, Dhurandhar BEST EDITING: Shivkumar V Gautam Dhar, Haq Saiyaara Title Track, Saiyaara BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Ganguly, Shararat, Dhurandhar BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Vikash Nowlakha, Dhurandhar BEST fILM fOR GENDER SENSITIVITY: Haq BEST SCRIPT - OTT fILM: Stolen Saiyaara BEST HAIRSTYLING & MAKE-UP: Preetisheel Singh BESTCHOREOGRAPHY: Vijay Saini S Johray, Dhurandhar BEST fILM WRITING (STORY & SCREENPLAY): Homebound BEST BACKGROUND SCORE: Shashwat Sachdev, Dhurandhar Panicker, Dhurandhar Bishwadeep Chatterjee, Dhurandhar D’Souza, Dhurandhar BEST COSTUME: BEST SONG: Saiyaara Title Track, BEST SOUND DESIGN: Dhurandhar BEST OTT fILM: Stolen BREAKTHROUGHDEBUT DIRECTOR: ShaziaIqbal,Dhadak2 BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (MALE): Faheem Abdullah, BREAKTHROUGH NEW ACTOR (MALE): Ahaan Panday, Saiyaara Ishq, Gustaakh Ishq BEST DIALOGUE: Saiyaara Title Track, Saiyaara Dhurandhar BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (fEMALE): Shreya Ghosal, BEST DIRECTOROTT fILM: Karan »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BEST SPECIAL EffECTS: BEST LYRICS: Gulzar, Ul Julool Sheetal Iqbal Sharma, Chhaava; and Smriti Chauhan, Dhurandhar US SPECIAL forces rescued an airman in a high-risk mission deep inside Iran while President Donald Trump threatened to rain “hell” on Tehran if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz for oil flows vital to the world economy. Trump announced the rescueintheearlyhoursofSunday in a social media post that described the operation in a mountainous area as “one of themostdaring”suchmissions in US history. The airman — weapons officeroftheF-15EStrikeEaglejet shot down on Friday — was wounded but “will be just fine”, Trump said in a message on X. The pilot of the aircraft was rescued on Friday itself. In another post, laden with expletives, Trump repeated a demand that Iran open the StraitofHormuz.“Tuesdaywill be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F****n’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” it read. In an interview to The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, TrumpsaidhisdeadlineforIran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on critical infrastructure is Tuesday evening. BREAKTHROUGH NEW ACTOR (fEMALE): Aneet Padda, Saiyaara happening Cong candidate is voter Malda gherao example today again as tribunals hold of ‘maha jungle raj’: PM lTHE CREW Of NASA’S Artemis II mission are scheduled to perform a critical lunar flyby, passing around the far side of the Moon. TRACK THIS AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm INsIDE PAGE 6 ODISHA POLICE FILE FIR ON BENGALI ACTOR’S DEATH: ‘PROBING ALL ANGLES’ first, and only, hearing DECISION 2026 Express News Service Kolkata, April 5 Business as Usual By EP UNNY WEST BENGAL Sweety Kumari & Atri Mitra Kolkata, April 5 A DAY to go for the voter list to befinalisedforthefirstphaseof Assembly elections in West Bengal, the tribunals to hear applications of those “deleted” »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 LAUNCHING THE BJP’s poll campaigninWestBengalunder the slogan “Bijoy Sankalpa Sabha”, Prime Minister NarendraModionSundayattacked theTrinamoolCongress(TMC), callinglastweek’sgheraoofjudicial officers in Malda an example of “maha jungle raj”. He also accused the ruling partyofopposingtheSpecialIntensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to “protect infiltrators”. Addressing his first rally in the state since Assembly polls »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PM Narendra Modi at a BJP rally in Cooch Behar on Sunday. PTI TIME TO AvENGE S.I.R. DELETIONS: MAMATA PAGE 4 l LAST JOURNEY HOME OF INDIAN SEAFARER KILLED IN WAR A sister’s sleepless night, and a brother’s coffin Dixit Solanki’s father and sister receive his remains. GANESH SHIRSEKAR Purnima Sah the West Asia conflict, his remainswerefinallymakingtheir way back to Mumbai. MITALISOLANKIdidnotsleep Nothing should go wrong on the night of April 4. She sat now, she said. withapileofdocuments,checkAround midnight, the ing and rechecking, family got a series PAGE 1 charging her phone of messages — and a power bank. from the DirectorThirty-five days after ate General of her brother Dixit SoShipping, V Ships lanki, a 32-year-old seafarer, India Pvt Ltd, and the Indian died aboard a vessel caught in embassy and consulate in Mumbai, April 5 anchor Dubai. All of them conveyed what they were waiting to know:Solanki’sremainswould arrive at the international airport cargo terminal at 4.15 am. By 3.30 am, Mitali and her father Amratlal were in a car. They reached the terminal by 4 amandweretoldtoreturnafter an hour. They did not leave. It had already been three dayssincethefamilyhadmoved »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata An image on IRGC’s website shows what state media claimed was the site of a downed American transport plane and two helicopters involved in rescue operation, in Isfahan. SEPAHNEWS VIA REUTERS Strait ‘deadline’ looms, Jaishankar talks to Iran counterpart Araghchi Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, April 5 EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Minister S Jaishankar spoke to the foreign ministers of Iran, Qatar and UAE on Sunday as US President Donald Trump threatened to resume attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by Tuesday. Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi called up Jaishankar and they discussed the “present situation”. “Received a call from Foreign Minister @araghchi of Iran. Discussed the present situation,” Jaishankar posted on X, after the call. According to the Iranian embassy, “Seyed Abbas »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The War DAY 37 lUAE and Bahrain said they were targeted by dozens of missiles and drones. UAE halted production at a petrochemicals plant lKuwait’sFinanceMinistry saidadronecaused‘significant damage’toitsofficecomplex lIsrael continued to hit Lebanon; Hezbollah said it attacked an Israeli military barge with a cruise missile
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