Mumbai, 9th August, 2023: The Screenwriters Association (SWA) proudly presented another dazzling edition of the esteemed SWA Awards on August 6th, held at the illustrious Taj Lands’ End in Mumbai. The event proved to be a glittering gathering, uniting luminaries from the world of screenwriting and shining a spotlight on the exceptional screenwriters behind India’s captivating film, television, and web series narratives.
The SWA Awards, an extraordinary tribute to the brilliant minds that craft our on-screen stories, once again affirmed its distinction as a celebration of “by the screenwriters and for screenwriters.” Originating from the Screenwriters Association during its Diamond Jubilee Year celebrations, the SWA Awards holds a unique position as India’s sole accolade exclusively dedicated to recognizing the remarkable contributions of screenwriters in Hindi Films, TV Serials/Shows, and Web Series. The ceremony was graced by the presence of celebrated Screenwriters, Directors, Producers, Broadcasters, and other esteemed guests from the thriving film, television, and OTT industry.
Spanning across 17 categories of Web, Television, and Films, the SWA 2023 awards were determined by a panel of accomplished screenwriters and lyricists from diverse facets of the entertainment industry. Esteemed jury members included luminaries such as Advaita Kala, Biswapati Sarkar, Nupur Pai, Hardik Mehta, Navjot Gulati, Sandeep Jain, Gurmeet Gaur Udayan, Kartick Sitaraman, Mitali Parulekar, Pavni Mehandiratta, Charudutt Acharya, Purnendu Shekhar, Sweksha Bhagat, Aashish Pawaskar, Jagriti Thakur, Sudeep Sohni, Mukesh Nema, Vaibhav Kulkarni, Amitabh S Verma, Apurva Asrani, Arati Kadav, Devanshu Singh, Atika Chohan, Garima Obrah, Ram Kumar Singh, Swapnil Tiwari, Gaurav Solanki, Piyush Mishra, and Shellee.
Nagraj Popatrao Manjule emerged as a triumphant figure in the Feature Film Awards category, securing three prestigious accolades for his outstanding work in “Jhund” – Feature Film Debut for Best Story, Best Screenplay, and Feature Film-Best Dialogue. Divyang Thakkar’s exceptional contribution to “Jayeshbhai Jordaar” was acknowledged with the Feature Film Debut – Best Dialogue award.
The celebrated film “Badhaai Do” enjoyed a double victory, with Akshat Ghildial & Suman Adhikary winning the Best Story award, and Akshat Ghildial, Suman Adhikary & Harshavardhan Kulkarni securing the Best Screenplay honor. In a heartfelt acceptance speech, Suman Adhikary & Harshavardhan Kulkarni recognized director Harshavardhan’s transformative impact on the film’s narrative and characters.
The Web Series Awards segment witnessed a clean sweep for “Mukhbir – The Story of a Spy,” as Shivam Nair, Jayprad Desai, Karan Oberoi, Aseem Arora & Saurabh Swammy received the Web Adaptation – Best Story award, Arshad Syed claimed the Web Adaptation – Best Screenplay accolade and Vaibhav Modi & Arshad Syed triumphed in the Web Adaptation – Best Dialogue category.
Rocket Boys’ Abhay Koranne secured the award for Web Original – Best Story, while the accomplished team behind “Guilty Minds” – Shefali Bhushan, Jayant Digambar Somalkar, Manav Bhushan & Deeksha Gujral – were honored with the Web Original – Best Screenplay award. Chandan Kumar’s contribution to “Panchayat Season 2” earned him the Web Original – Best Dialogue recognition.
In the Television Awards Category, “Pushpa Impossible” made its mark with Sneha Desai & Tushar Ishwer clinching the Television – Best Dialogue award, and Rajesh Joshi & Shabia Ravi Walia bagging the Television – Best Screenplay accolade. Sneha Desai & Tushar Ishwer expressed gratitude for the validation of their efforts, highlighting the show’s significant impact both on and off-screen.
Tanuja Chaturvedi’s storytelling brilliance in “Harphoul Mohini” was acknowledged with the Television – Best Story award.
Amitabh Bhattacharya bagged the award for Feature Film-Best Lyrics for his song “Kahani” from “Laal Singh Chadhha”, while Raj Shekhar’s evocative lyrics for “Aise Kyun” from “Mismatched Season 2” secured the TV/Web – Best Lyrics honor.
A notable highlight of this year’s ceremony was the Special Mention Jury Award presented to Prajwal Chandrashekar & Suresh Triveni for their remarkable work on the film “Jalsa.”
As the curtain fell on another successful edition of the SWA Awards, the industry echoed with applause, acknowledging the crucial role that screenwriters play in enriching the artistic tapestry of Indian entertainment.
