INCA awards announced: Indian cinema to unite under one stage
The Indian National Cine Academy (INCA) has officially announced the launch of the Kalyan Jewellers INCA Awards, with the first edition scheduled to be held in Mumbai on April 15 and 16, 2026. Marking a historic moment for Indian cinema, the awards aim to bring together 12 Indian film industries on a single national platform for the very first time.
Designed as a truly unified academy, INCA seeks to celebrate cinematic excellence across languages, regions, and cultures, moving beyond the traditional format of separate industry-based awards. Instead of recognising each film industry in isolation, the INCA Awards will honour Indian cinema collectively, reflecting the true diversity, scale, and richness of storytelling across the country.
The academy is promoted by Vishnu Vardhan Induri, who is also the driving force behind the Celebrity Cricket League and the SIIMA. Adding strong institutional backing, the Producers Guild of India has come on board as the Chief Patron, while Kalyan Jewellers is the Presenting Sponsor for the inaugural edition.
Awards will be presented for Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Actress across 12 languages — Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Assamese, and Gujarati. In addition, there will be All India awards recognising excellence in direction, music, technical categories, performances, and debut talent.
Producers and directors whose films were released between January 1 and December 31, 2025, can submit their entries online, with the final submission deadline set for March 1, 2026.
With the launch of INCA, Indian cinema takes a significant step towards unity, inclusivity, and national recognition — celebrating diverse voices as one powerful, collective film community.
