Alia Bhatt and Kareena Kapoor to clash with THIS 17 year old debutant for Filmfare Best Actress award; not Aneet Padda

All eyes are on Filmfare Awards 2025 as the nominations were recently announced. This year Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies dominated the nominations list but A-listers also made it to the main categories. Among them are Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor and Vidya Balan who will be competing against a 17-year old newcomer, Nitanshi Goel.

Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor vs Nitanshi Goel

This year's critics’ award nominees for Best Actor (Female) included Alia Bhatt (Jigra), Kareena Kapoor (The Buckingham Murders), Nitanshi Goel and Pratibha Ranta (Laapataa Ladies), and Vidya Balan (Do Aur Do Pyaar).

The category features talent across generations. Kareena Kapoor and Vidya Balan, both in their mid-40s (45 and 46), continue to deliver powerfull performances, while Alia Bhatt at 32 and Pratibha Ranta at 24 represent the younger crop of actors.

Nitanshi Goel

The youngest name on the list is Nitanshi Goel, now 18, who was only 17 when she starred in Laapataa Ladies.

Goel made her lead role debut with Laapataa Ladies. In the film, she played the role of a young bride, Phool Kumari, who gets exchanged with another newlywed bride during a train ride.

Released in 2023, Laapataa Ladies also starred Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Chhaya Kadam and Ravi Kishan, among others.

When Nitanshi Goel won Best Actress in a Leading Role

If Goel wins the title, it won't be her first time. Previously, she was nominated alongside Alia Bhatt (Jigra), Katrina Kaif (Merry Christmas), Yami Gautam (Article 370), and Shraddha Kapoor (Stree 2) in the Best Actress in a Leading Role (Female) category at the IIFA Awards 2025.

After winning the award, she told ANI, "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."

Filmfare Awards 2025 nomination list

Check out Filmfare Awards 2025 full list of nominees:

Best film

Article 370

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3

Kill

Laapataa Ladies

Stree 2

Best director

Aditya Suhas Jambhale (Article 370)

Amar Kaushik (Stree 2)

Anees Bazmee (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3)

Kiran Rao (Laapataa Ladies)

Nikhil Nagesh Bhat (Kill)

Critics' award for best film

I Want to Talk (Shoojit Sircar)

Laapataa Ladies (Kiran Rao)

Maidaan (Amit Ravindernath Sharma)

Merry Christmas (Sriram Raghavan)

The Buckingham Murders (Hansal Mehta)

Best actor in a leading role (male)

Abhishek Bachchan (I Want to Talk)

Ajay Devgn (Maidaan)

Akshay Kumar (Sarfira)

Hrithik Roshan (Fighter)

Kartik Aaryan (Chandu Champion)

Rajkummar Rao (Stree 2)

Critics' award for best actor (male)

Abhishek Bachchan (I Want to Talk)

Pratik Gandhi (Madgaon Express)

Rajkummar Rao (Srikanth)

Randeep Hooda (Swatantrya Veer Savarkar)

Sparsh Shrivastava (Laapataa Ladies)

Best actor in a leading role (female)

Alia Bhatt (Jigra)

Kareena Kapoor Khan (Crew)

Kriti Sanon (Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya)

Shraddha Kapoor (Stree 2)

Tabu (Crew)

Yami Gautam (Article 370)

Critics' award for best actor (female)

Alia Bhatt (Jigra)

Kareena Kapoor Khan (The Buckingham Murders)

Nitanshi Goel (Laapataa Ladies)

Pratibha Ranta (Laapataa Ladies)

Vidya Balan (Do Aur Do Pyaar)

Best actor in a supporting role (male)

Pankaj Tripathi (Stree 2)

Paresh Rawal (Sarfira)

R Madhavan (Shaitaan)

Raghav Juyal (Kill)

Ravi Kishan (Laapataa Ladies)

Best actor in a supporting role (female)

Ahilya Bamroo (I Want to Talk)

Chhaya Kadam (Laapataa Ladies)

Janki Bodiwala (Shaitaan)

Madhuri Dixit (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3)

Priyamani (Article 370)

Best music album

Bad Newz (Prem & Hardeep, Rochak Kohli, Vishal Mishra, Lijo George–DJ Chetas, Karan Aujla and Abhijeet Srivastava)

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (Pritam, Tanishk Bagchi, Amaal Malik, Sachet–Parampara, Aditya Rikhari, Lijo George–DJ Chetas)

Laapataa Ladies (Ram Sampath)

Maidaan (A R Rahman)

Stree 2 (Sachin–Jigar)

Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya (Tanishk Bagchi, Sachin–Jigar, Mitraz)

Best lyrics

Kausar Munir (Sarphira – Chandu Champion)

Prashant Pandey (Sajni – Laapataa Ladies)

Siddhant Kaushal (Nikat – Kill)

Swanand Kirkire (Dheeme Dheeme – Laapataa Ladies)

Varun Grover (Raat Akeli Thi – Merry Christmas)

Best playback singer (male)

Arijit Singh (Sajni – Laapataa Ladies)

Javed Ali (Mirza – Maidaan)

Karan Aujla (Tauba Tauba – Bad Newz)

Pawan Singh (Aayi Nai – Stree 2)

Sonu Nigam (Mere Dholna – Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3)

Best playback singer (female)

Anumita Nadesan (Tenu Sang Rakhna – Jigra)

Madhubanti Bagchi (Aaj Ki Raat – Stree 2)

Rekha Bhardwaj (Nikat – Kill)

Shilpa Rao (Ishq Jaisa Kuch – Fighter)

Shreya Ghoshal (Dheeme Dheeme – Laapataa Ladies)

Best story

Aakash Kaushik (Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3)

Aditya Dhar and Monal Thaakar (Article 370)

Nikhil Nagesh Bhat (Kill)

Niren Bhatt (Stree 2)

Prateek Vats, Shubham and Dibakar Banerjee (Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2)

Best screenplay

Aditya Dhar, Aditya Suhas Jambhale, Monal Thaakar and Arjun Dhawan (Article 370)

Niren Bhatt (Stree 2)

Sneha Desai (Laapataa Ladies)

Nikhil Nagesh Bhat (Kill)

Kunal Kemmu (Madgaon Express)

Best dialogue

Niren Bhatt (Stree 2)

Ritesh Shah (Maidaan)

Sneha Desai (Laapataa Ladies)

Ritesh Shah (I Want to Talk)

Kunal Kemmu (Madgaon Express)

Best adapted screenplay

Ritesh Shah (I Want to Talk)

Saiwyn Quadras, Amit Ravindranath Sharma, Aman Rai, Atul Shahi (Maidaan)

Sriram Raghavan, Arjit Biswas, Pooja Ladha Surti, Anukriti Pandey (Merry Christmas)

Aamil Keeyan Khan (Shaitaan)

Jagdeep Siddhu, Sumit Purohit (Srikanth)

Best background score

A R Rahman (Maidaan)

Daniel B. George (Merry Christmas)

Ketan Sodha (The Buckingham Murders)

Ketan Sodha (Kill)

Ram Sampath (Laapataa Ladies)

Best cinematography

Avik Mukhopadhayay (I Want to Talk)

Emma Dalesman (The Buckingham Murders)

Rafey Mehmood (Kill)

Tushar Kanti Ray (Maidaan)

Vikash Nowlakha (Laapataa Ladies)

Best production design

Mayur Sharma (Kill)

Mayur Sharma (Merry Christmas)

Rajnish Hedao (Chandu Champion)

Tiya Tejpal (Love Sex Aur Dhoka 2)

Vikram Singh (Laapataa Ladies)

Best costume

Darshan Jalan (Laapataa Ladies)

Kirti Kolwankar and Maria Tharakan (Maidaan)

Manisha Melwani, Chandini Whabi, Meagan Concessio and Abhilasha Devnani Baweja (Crew)

Rohit Chaturvedi (Chandu Champion)

Veera Kapur Ee (Article 370)

Best sound design

Ayush Ahuja (Laapataa Ladies)

Mandar Kulkarni (The Buckingham Murders)

Nihar Ranjan Samal (Maidaan)

Subash Sahoo (Kill)

Tanmay Bhattacherjee (Love Sex Aur Dhoka 2)

Best editing

Hemanti Sarkar (Stree 2)

Jabeen Merchant (Laapataa Ladies)

Paramita Ghosh (Love Sex Aur Dhoka 2)

Shivkumar V. Panicker (Kill)

Dev Rao Jadhav (Maidaan)

Best action

Craig Macrae & Parvez Shaikh (Bade Miyan Chote Miyan)

R P Yadav and Robert Miller (Maidaan)

Seayoung Oh and Parvez Shaikh (Kill)

Seayoung Oh, Parvez Shaikh and Sunil Rodrigues (Fighter)

Vikram Dahiya (Jigra)

Best VFX

Digital Domain (Stree 2)

Lavan and Kushan (Digital Turbo Media) and Ashutosh Pandey (Reflections Pictures) (Kill)

Redefine (Munjya)

Redefine (Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya)

Redefine (Maidaan)

Best choreography

Bosco–Caesar (Tauba Tauba – Bad Newz)

Shaik Jani Basha (Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya – Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya)

Vijay Ganguly (Aaj Ki Raat – Stree 2)

Bosco–Caesar (Sher Khul Gaye – Fighter)

Chinni Prakash (Ami Je Tomar – Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3)

Best debut director

Aditya Suhas Jambhale (Article 370)

Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah (Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya)

Kunal Kemmu (Madgaon Express)

Randeep Hooda (Swatantrya Veer Savarkar)

Shirsha Guha Thakurta (Do Aur Do Pyaar)

Varun Grover (All India Rank)

Best debut male

Abhinav Singh (Love Sex Aur Dhoka 2)

Guru Randhawa (Kuch Khattaa Ho Jaay)

Jibraan Khan (Ishq Vishk Rebound)

Kshitij Chauhan (Vedaa)

Lakshya (Kill)

Sparsh Shrivastava (Laapataa Ladies)

Best debut female

Ahilya Bamroo (I Want to Talk)

Anjini Dhawan (Binny and Family)

Dhvani Bhanushali (Kahan Shuru Kahan Khatam)

Nitanshi Goel (Laapataa Ladies)

Pashmina Roshan (Ishq Vishk Rebound)

Pratibha Ranta (Laapataa Ladies)