Mumbai: The 17-year-old Nitanshi Goel, who made her Bollywood debut with Kiran Rao’s ‘Laapataa Ladies’, couldn’t hold back her tears when her name was announced for the IIFA 2025 Best Actress Award.
The on-screen Phool Kumari, who was overwhelmed with emotions while accepting the award from Boman Irani and Bobby Deol, said she had never dreamt about this moment.
“I wasn’t expecting this… I was hoping Laapataa Ladies would win big, but I didn’t think I would win myself. The other nominees were incredible, and I’m a huge fan of all of them. I’m truly overwhelmed by the love I’ve received,” she said.
The other nominees for Best Actress category were Alia Bhatt (Jigra), Katrina Kaif (Merry Christmas), Yami Gautam (Article 370) and Shraddha Kapoor (Stree 2).
However, one-film-old Nitanshi outshone the established artistes to bag the award.
“It’s become a thing now. Honestly, I couldn’t stop crying because winning this award is a dream come true for every actor, and it’s finally come true for me. I’m just so grateful,” a teary-eyed Nitanshi said.
“The first thing I did was cry and try to put together a speech because I couldn’t believe it was happening. Then I gave my mom a big hug, and a huge hug to Kiran ma’am. It was all just happy tears,” she continued.
Asked to name the actors she would like to work with in future, the IIFA Best Actress said, “There are so many people on my list,” she said, adding, “But Shah Rukh sir tops the chart, followed by Kartik Aaryan. It would be amazing to work with any of them.”
Directed by Kiran Rao, the 2023 comedy-drama ‘Laapataa Ladies’ revolves around two newlywed rural brides who get exchanged during a train journey.
Check out the complete list of the IIFA Awards 2025 winners here:
| Best Picture | Laapataa Ladies |
| Best Performance In A Leading Role (Male) | Kartik Aaryan (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3) |
| Best Performance In A Leading Role (Female) | Nitanshi Goel (Laapataa Ladies) |
| Best Direction | Kiran Rao (Laapataa Ladies) |
| Best Performance In A Negative Role | Raghav Juyal (Kill) |
| Best Performance In A Supporting Role (Female) | Janki Bodiwala (Shaitaan) |
| Best Performance In A Supporting Role (Male) | Ravi Kishan (Laapataa Ladies) |
| Best Story (Original) In The Popular Category | Biplab Goswami (Laapataa Ladies) |
| Best Story (Adapted) | Sriram Raghavan, Arijit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Surti, and Anukriti Pandey (Merry Christmas) |
| Best Directorial Debut | Kunal Kemmu (Madgaon Express) |
| Best Debut (Male) | Lakshya Lalwani (Kill) |
| Best Debut (Female) | Pratibha Ranta (Laapataa Ladies) |
| Best Music Director | Ram Sampath (Laapataa Ladies) |
| Best Lyrics | Prashant Pandey (Sajni from Laapataa Ladies) |
| Best Singer (Male) | Jubin Nautiyal (Dua from Article 370) |
| Best Singer (Female) | Shreya Ghoshal (Ami Je Tomar 3.0 from Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3) |
| Best Sound Design | Subash Sahoo, Boloy Kumar Doloi, Rahul Karpe (Kill) |
| Best Screenplay | Sneha Desai (Laapataa Ladies) |
| Best Dialogue | Arjun Dhawan, Aditya Dhar, Aditya Suhas Jambhale, Monal Thaakar (Article 370) |
| Best Editing | Jabeen Merchant (Laapataa Ladies) |
| Best Cinematography | Rafey Mahmood (Kill) |
| Best Choreography | Bosco-Caesar (Tauba Tauba from Bad Newz) |
| Best Special Effects | Red Chillies VFX (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3) |
| Outstanding Achievement In Indian Cinema | Rakesh Roshan |
The IIFA Awards completed 25 years this year and its Silver Jubilee celebrations were held in Jaipur on March 8.
