The grandest OTT extravaganza hosts its second iteration

After the rollicking success of last year's programme, Blender's Choice-The Daily Star OTT & Digital Content Awards is back again to reward the performers of the exciting digital world.

The awards will be handed out tonight at a lavish event at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC), in the Hall of Fame, from 5 pm onwards. It will be stars galore as 28 awards will be handed out, from which 14 are for Film/Drama/Story, 4 for Music, 4 Critics awards and 6 for content creators.

The captains of the ship, directors who have been nominated for their visions include Syed Ahmed Shawki for the first part of "Karagar", a thrilling tale of a mysterious prisoner with seemingly unknown origins. Shihab Shaheen has told a gripping tale of crime and corruption in "Syndicate", whereas Nuhash Humayun has taken himself to new heights with his horror series, "Pett Kata Shaw". The ever-innovative Tanim Noor has received his much-deserved nomination for detective-thriller "Kaiser", whereas Mohammad Touqir Islam is in the category for the gripping tale in "Shaaticup".

Web films have also taken a step up, as Shihab Shaheen enters the fray once again with the bittersweet tale of "Mayashalik". A master of thrillers, Vicky Zahed has hit yet another home run with "Redrum". Big-screen director Raihan Rafi has yet again earned his nomination with "Taan", while Anam Biswas is in serious contention with "Dui Diner Duniya". "Café Desire", a one-of-a-kind anthology film, has earned a nomination.

In the Best Actor category, Afran Nisho has two nominations for his fantastic acting in "Kaiser" and "Redrum", whereas last year's winner Chanchal Chowdhury has bagged yet another nomination for "Karagar". The ever-consistent Mosharraf Karim will add to the tough competition for his role in "Tin Shoroter Golpo". Ziaul Faruq Apurba has completely reinvented himself in "Mayashalik", earning him his first nomination in the OTT awards.

The women of OTT have brought forth some remarkable performances, with Mehazabien Chowdhury being nominated for both "Sabrina" and "Redrum".  Nazia Haque Orsha, who played the titular Sabrina in the same production, is also prime entrant for this category. Dhallywood queen Shobnom Bubly completely reinvented herself for "Taan", whereas Tasnia Farin has showed off a more mature side in "Karagar".

Villians are all the rage in recent media, as Nasir Uddin Khan broke the mould for a negative character in "Syndicate", with his indelible character of Allen Swapan. Imtiaz Barshon earned notoriety for his portrayal of The Barrister in "Kaiser", whereas Shohel Mondol delivered a thrilling performance as the antagonist of "Taan". Veteran actors Afzal Hossain and Lutfar Rahman George have earned their nominations for "Refugee" and "Kalo Projapoti", respectively.

Actors have made themselves stand out in supporting roles as well, arguably as much as the leads themselves. Afzal Hossain ("Bodh"), Intekhab Dinar ("Karagar"), Manoj Kumar Pramanik ("Redrum"), Shatabdi Wadud ("Muntasir") and Mustafizur Noor Imran ("Kaiser") will contest each other in the male supporting role category, and on the other side of the coin are Farzana Chobi ("Taan"), Salha Khanam Nadia ("Redrum"), Tropa Majumdar ("9 April"), Tania Brishty and Tanvin Sweety ("Dui Diner Duniya").

Silver-screen star Yash Rohan will host the programme's red carpet, along with rising star Sarah Alam. The event will feature Aisha Khan, Naziba Basher, Rafsan Sabab and Amin Hannan Chowdhury.

Performances from Pritom Hasan, Tasnia Farin, Ridy Sheikh, Masha Islam and many other surprises await today as well.