# ITA Award for Best Actor in a Drama - Popular

ITA Award for Best Actor Popular Drama is an award given by the Indian Television Academy as a part of its annual event to the male actor who receives the highest votes by the public. First awarded in 2001, the award was originally named Desh Ka Sitara but was later renamed to Best Actor Popular.

## Superlatives

Harshad Chopda is 5-time winner of the ITA Award for Best Actor Popular which is the highest, followed by Ronit Roy, Dheeraj Dhoopar, Karan Mehra and Nakuul Mehta, who are 2-time winners of the same.

## Winners and nominees

| Year | Actor | Character | Show |
| 2001 | Amar Upadhyay | Mihir Virani | Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi |
| 2001 | Kiran Karmarkar | Om Agarwal | Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii |
| 2001 | Harsh Chhaya | Lalit Sharma | Justujoo |
| 2001 | Shivaji Satam | A.C.P. Pradyuman | CID |
| 2001 | Kanwaljit Singh | Gautam Kapoor | Saans |
| 2002 | Cezanne Khan | Anurag Basu | Kasautii Zindagii Kay |
| 2002 | Kiran Karmarkar | Om Agarwal | Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii |
| 2002 | Amar Upadhyay | Mihir Virani | Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi |
| 2002 | Varun Badola | Dev Malik | Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand |
| 2002 | Suresh Oberoi | Dr. Raj Pradhan | Dhadkan |
| 2003 | Ronit Roy | Mihir Virani | Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi |
| 2003 | Kiran Karmarkar | Om Agarwal | Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii |
| 2003 | Cezanne Khan | Anurag Basu | Kasautii Zindagii Kay |
| 2003 | Mihir Mishra | Dr. Rahul Mishra | Sanjivani - A Medical Boon |
| 2004 | Ronit Roy | Mihir Virani | Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi |
| 2004 | Rajeev Khandelwal | Sujal Garewal | Kahiin to Hoga |
| 2004 | Varun Badola | Abhimanyu Saxena | Astitva...Ek Prem Kahani |
| 2004 | Apurva Agnihotri | Armaan Suri | Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin |
| 2004 | Kiran Karmarkar | Om Agarwal | Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii |
| 2005 | Hiten Tejwani | Karan Virani | Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi |
| 2005 | Ronit Roy | Rishabh Bajaj | Kasautii Zindagii Kay |
| 2005 | Apurva Agnihotri | Armaan Suri | Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin |
| 2005 | Rajeev Khandelwal | Sujal Garewal | Kahiin to Hoga |
| 2005 | Hussain Kuwajerwala | Sumit Wadhwa | Kumkum – Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan |
| 2006 | Rohit Roy | Rahul Lamba | Viraasat |
| 2006 | Ram Kapoor | Jai Walia | Kasamh Se |
| 2006 | Eijaz Khan | Kavya Nanda | Kkavyanjali |
| 2006 | Sharad Kelkar | Nahar Singh | Saat Phere: Saloni Ka Safar |
| 2006 | Hussain Kuwajerwala | Sumit Wadhwa | Kumkum – Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan |
| 2007 | Rajat Tokas | Prithviraj Chauhan | Dharti Ka Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan |
| 2007 | Sharad Malhotra | Sagar Pratap Singh | Banoo Main Teri Dulhann |
| 2007 | Ram Kapoor | Jai Walia | Kasamh Se |
| 2007 | Rajeev Khandelwal | Captain Rajveer Singh Shekhawat | Left Right Left |
| 2007 | Rohit Roy | Rahul Lamba | Viraasat |
| 2008 | Angad Hasija | Aalekh Rajvansh | Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai |
| 2008 | Ram Kapoor | Jai Walia | Kasamh Se |
| 2008 | Harshad Chopda | Prem Juneja | Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil |
| 2008 | Sharad Malhotra | Sagar Pratap Singh | Banoo Main Teri Dulhann |
| 2008 | Shabbir Ahluwalia | Milind Mishra | Kayamath |
| 2009 | Karan Mehra | Naitik Singhania | Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai |
| 2009 | Ronit Roy | Dharamraj Mahiyavanshi | Bandini |
| 2009 | Sushant Singh Rajput | Manav Deshmukh | Pavitra Rishta |
| 2009 | Avinash Sachdev | Dev Purohit | Chotti Bahu |
| 2009 | Angad Hasija | Alekh Rajvansh | Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai |

### 2010s

| Year | Actor | Character | Show |
| 2010 | Sushant Singh Rajput | Manav Deshmukh | Pavitra Rishta |
| 2010 | Karan Mehra | Naitik Singhania | Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai |
| 2010 | Arhaan Behll | Krishna Singh | Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya |
| 2010 | Ronit Roy | Dharamraj Mahiyavanshi | Bandini |
| 2010 | Nandish Sandhu | Veer Singh Bundela | Uttaran |
| 2011 | Arhaan Behll | Krishna Singh | Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya |
| 2011 | Sushant Singh Rajput | Manav Deshmukh | Pavitra Rishta |
| 2011 | Harshad Chopda | Anurag Ganguly | Tere Liye |
| 2011 | Karan Mehra | Naitik Singhania | Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai |
| 2011 | Nandish Sandhu | Veer Singh Bundela | Uttaran |
| 2012 | Barun Sobti | Arnav Singh Raizada | Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? |
| 2012 | Samir Soni | Kunal Chopra | Parichay |
| 2012 | Gurmeet Choudhary | Maan Singh Khurana | Geet – Hui Sabse Parayi |
| 2012 | Dilip Joshi | Jethalal Gada | Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah |
| 2012 | Kushal Tandon | Virat Singh Vadhera | Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai |
| 2013 | Karan Singh Grover | Asad Ahmed Khan | Qubool Hai |
| 2013 | Ram Kapoor | Ram Kapoor | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain |
| 2013 | Anas Rashid | Sooraj Rathi | Diya Aur Baati Hum |
| 2013 | Gurmeet Choudhary | Yash Sindhia | Punar Vivaah |
| 2013 | Vivian Dsena | Rishabh Kundra | Madhubala - Ek Ishq Ek Junoon |
| 2014 | Harshad Arora | Zain Abdullah | Beintehaa |
| 2014 | Anas Rashid | Sooraj Rathi | Diya Aur Baati Hum |
| 2014 | Ashish Sharma | Rudra Pratap Ranawat | Rangrasiya |
| 2014 | Shabbir Ahluwalia | Abhishek Mehra | Kumkum Bhagya |
| 2014 | Shaheer Sheikh | Arjun | Mahabharat |
| 2015 | Karan Mehra | Naitik Singhania | Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai |
| 2015 | Shabir Ahluwalia | Abhishek Mehra | Kumkum Bhagya |
| 2015 | Karan Patel | Raman Bhalla | Yeh Hai Mohabbatein |
| 2015 | Shakti Arora | Ranveer Vaghela | Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi |
| 2016 | Shabbir Ahluwalia | Abhishek Mehra | Kumkum Bhagya |
| 2016 | Shaheer Sheikh | Dev Dixit | Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi |
| 2016 | Karan Patel | Raman Bhalla | Yeh Hai Mohabbatein |
| 2016 | Vivian Dsena | Harman Singh | Shakti - Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki |
| 2016 | Shravan Reddy | Aryan Chimaji | Krishnadasi |
| 2017 | Nakuul Mehta | Shivaay Singh Oberoi | Ishqbaaaz |
| 2017 | Vivian Dsena | Harman Singh | Shakti - Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki |
| 2017 | Aasif Sheikh | Vibhuti Narayan Mishra | Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain! |
| 2017 | Zain Imam | Neil Khanna | Naamkarann |
| 2017 | Barun Sobti | Advay Singh Raizada | Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon 3 |
| 2018 | Harshad Chopda | Aditya Hooda | Bepannah |
| 2018 | Nakuul Mehta | Shivaay Singh Oberoi | Ishqbaaaz |
| 2018 | Randeep Rai | Sameer Maheshwari | Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai |
| 2018 | Zain Imam | Neil Khanna | Naamkarann |
| 2018 | Vivian Dsena | Harman Singh | Shakti - Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki |
| 2019 | Dheeraj Dhoopar | Karan Luthra | Kundali Bhagya |
| 2019 | Harshad Chopda | Aditya Hooda | Bepannah |
| 2019 | Randeep Rai | Sameer Maheshwari | Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai |
| 2019 | Vivian Dsena | Harman Singh | Shakti - Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki |

### 2020s

| Year | Actor | Character | Show |
| 2020 | Dheeraj Dhoopar | Karan Luthra | Kundali Bhagya |
| 2020 | Sudhanshu Pandey | Vanraj Shah | Anupamaa |
| 2020 | Rrahul Sudhir | Vansh Raisinghania | Ishq Mein Marjawan 2 |
| 2020 | Sharad Malhotra | Veeranshu Singhania | Naagin 5 |
| 2020 | Sumedh Mudgalkar | Krishn | RadhaKrishn |
| 2021 | Harshad Chopda | Abhimanyu Birla | Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai |
| 2021 | Nakuul Mehta | Ram Kapoor | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2 |
| 2021 | Gaurav Khanna | Anuj Kapadia | Anupamaa |
| 2021 | Abrar Qazi | Rudraksh Khurana | Yeh Hai Chahatein |
| 2021 | Mohsin Khan | Kartik Goenka | Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai |
| 2021 | Sumedh Mudgalkar | Krishna | RadhaKrishn |
| 2022 | Harshad Chopda | Abhimanyu Birla | Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai |
| 2022 | Gaurav Khanna | Anuj Kapadia | Anupamaa |
| 2022 | Sumedh Mudgalkar | Krishna | RadhaKrishn |
| 2022 | Karan Wahi | Aditya Singh | Channa Mereya |
| 2022 | Karan Kundra | Host | Dance Deewane Junior |
| 2022 | Maniesh Paul | Host | India's Best Dancer |
| 2023 | Harshad Chopda | Abhimanyu Birla | Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai |
| 2023 | Nakuul Mehta | Ram Kapoor | Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2 |
| 2023 | Adnan Khan | Viaan Raghuvanshi | Katha Ankahee |
| 2023 | Harshad Arora | Dr. Satya Adhikari | Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin |
| 2023 | Sudhanshu Pandey | Vanraj Shah | Anupamaa |
| 2024 | Harshad Chopda | Abhimanyu Birla | Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai |
| 2024 | Krushal Ahuja | Aniruddh Bose | Jhanak |
| 2024 | Mahir Pandhi | Digvijay Mahajan | Vanshaj |
| 2024 | Mishkat Varma | Adhiraj Pradhan | Kavya - Ek Jazbaa, Ek Junoon |
| 2024 | Rohit Purohit | Armaan Poddar | Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai |