Raj Nidimoru: Trusted our instinct, stuck to original script

Manoj Bajpayee in The Family Man S02

Two years of the pandemic would have been close to impossible to bear, if not for the barrage of content on digital platforms. From following Srikant Tiwari's journey as he battled yet another threat to the nation, to witnessing Sidharth Malhotra honour Captain Vikram Batra's sacrifice for the country in Shershaah, there was enough and more to keep the junta glued to their screens.

Kiara Advani Pics/Instagram

After the success of the second edition, mid-day and Radio City Hitlist OTT Awards returned with the third season and fans poured in their love by voting for their favourites until March 18 when the ballots closed. Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK's The Family Man season 2 walked away with seven wins, including the Best Season. If Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha won the top acting honours in the Series category, the Amazon Prime Video offering also walked away with gongs for Best Supporting Actor (male), Best Supporting Actor (female), Best Ensemble Cast and Best Showrunner/Creator. "It is an honour to be acknowledged twice in a row for both our seasons of The Family Man. mid-day and Radio City were one of the pioneers in recognising and acknowledging OTT as an emerging, strong platform. We are delighted," says Raj as he recalled the tough journey he started in 2019. "To pull off the second season was the most difficult thing in the world. We have always been aware of the challenges of making a sequel. Thankfully, we were blissfully unaware of the first season's outcome because we had already started shooting [for the second instalment]."

Sidharth Malhotra in Shershaah; (right) Showrunners Raj-DK

While there was an option to makes changes to the second edition, Raj and DK stuck to their gut feeling. "We stuck to our basic instinct on how the second season should be and went with it. I think, trusting that instinct and sticking to the original concept helped us break the curse of the second season," explains Raj, and adds that a lot of viewers felt the second part was better than the first.

The other winners include Malhotra and Kiara Advani, who were adjudged Best Actors in the film category for Vishnuvardhan's Shershaah. The film won three gongs. Malhotra thanked everyone who helped him through the journey of the film and dedicated the award to the Batra family. "Shershaah is special. A win for the film requires [me to] thank so many people, from my producers - Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta and Shabbir Boxwala - to Kiara Advani who played Dimple so perfectly. The win belongs to the Indian army and Captain Vikram Batra's family who approached me and trusted me with this special story which I hope continues to inspire the country's youth."

And the award goes to...

. Best Show Aranyak (Netflix)
. Best Season The Family Man S02 (Amazon Prime Video)
. Best Web Film (Hindi) Shershaah (Amazon Prime Video)
. Best Web Film (Non-Hindi) Jai Bhim (Amazon Prime Video)
. Best Non-Fiction House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths (Netflix)
. Best Online Sensation Bhuvan Bam (Dhindora, YouTube)
. Best Actor (Male) Series Manoj Bajpayee (The Family Man S02)
. Best Actor (Female) Series Samantha (The Family Man S02)
. Best Supporting Actor (Male) Series Sharib Hashmi (The Family Man S02)
. Best Supporting Actor (Female) Series Ashlesha Thakur (The Family Man S02)
. Best Actor (Male) Film Sidharth Malhotra (Shershaah)
. Best Actor (Female) Film Kiara Advani (Shershaah)
. Best Supporting Actor (Male) Film Pankaj Tripathi (Mimi)
. Best Supporting Actor (Female) Film Ileana D'Cruz (The Big Bull)
. Best Ensemble Cast The Family Man S02 (Mukesh Chhabra)
. Best Showrunner/Creator The Family Man S02 (Raj-DK)