11 September,2026 07:28 AM IST | Mumbai | Hemal Ashar
Maneka Gandhi speaks out about celebrating compassion at the press conference on Thursday. Pic/Satej Shinde
Maneka Gandhi, synonymous with animal activism, was at a Mumbai club yesterday (Thursday) afternoon to address the media about the CineKind Awards Night 2026. The awards are a national initiative by the Film Federation of India (FFI) in association with Gandhi's People for Animals (PFA), which will celebrate individuals and stories that promote kindness, empathy and animal welfare.
The awards, to be given on October 4, will recognise those creating a more compassionate society for animals. The Film Federation of India (FFI) is the apex body representing various sections of the Indian film industry, and its partner for the CineKind initiative, People for Animals (PFA), is an animal welfare organisation founded and chaired by Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, with work spanning rescue, rehabilitation, advocacy and public awareness.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Gandhi said when asked about Mumbai's conflict zones and battle lines, "It was during COVID that the pet lovers really came into their own. They saw stores were closed, animals had their food sources shut off, so people actually started going out of their homes, specifically to feed stray animals. They felt compassion and also took the opportunity to go out of their homes to go outside. I myself gave thousands of feeding passes to people."
Of the man vs animals (read: building residents vs canine-feline battles), Gandhi acknowledged, "There is no corner in this city where people are not there to feed community animals. Unfortunately, though, there are also people in that space who are ready to hit people who are feeding these animals. There are those who are ready to bundle up stray kittens in borias (sacks) and hurl them away."
Maneka Gandhi and Abhay Sinha, president FFI, at the meet to announce the awards. Pic/Satej Shinde
Gandhi added that people in building complexes in Mumbai "need to create some kind of feeding zone/spot, and yes, I do know it is challenging where the animals can be fed. There is a tendency to think feeding zones should not be in my building; let it be in the next building.
This confuses the animal too, the not-in-my-neighbourhood mentality." Gandhi said Mumbai's problems align to that of other cities which have high-rises like Noida and now, Bangalore too, rather than cities that have low housing with space around.
The leader also told people to âadopt rather than shop' for dogs. "People should adopt Indie dogs (Indian dogs) rather than look for exotic breeds in all these pet shops that are now part of our landscape. We should make adoption an aspiration and stylish."
Gandhi advocated for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and animal caretakers: "Mumbai has one of the highest numbers of animal caretakers" working in tandem, so that the sterilisation and vaccination of stray dogs is very effective.
While these were Gandhi's on-ground measures and responses to specific questions through a Mumbai lens, she added that she thought movies had the power of "influencing and advocacy when it comes to animal welfare. For nearly two decades, I used to think that there should be some tie-up between animal activism and films. Then, these awards have come about, where the FFI and PFA will award and celebrate movies and individuals that promote kindness and empathy towards animals. I am greedy to find good people and good films so that instead of just 11 awards, I want to give 200 awards."
Cinekind Heart of Gold Award: Anant Ambani
Director of Change Award: Amit Rai, director, Ohh My Dog
Voice for the Voiceless Award: Nitin Jain, The Tribune
Champion for Animals Award: John Abraham
Kindness Catalyst Award: Raveena Tandon
Beacon of Hope Award: Wamiqa Gabbi
Kindness in Frame Award: Kalyan Varma
Innovation for Compassion Award: Imagine Foods, Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia Deshmukh
Compassionate Care Award: YODA Youth Organization in Defence of Animals: Priya Hebbar and Pooja Sakpal
Ray of Sunshine Award: Nikhar Juneja
Values in Action Award: Rajan Shahi
