Actor Sidharth Malhotra-led 'Shershaah' is leading the nominations for the upcoming International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, including best director, story and best actors.
'Shershaah', a biopic on Captain Vikram Batra, who was martyred while fighting for the country during the 1999 Kargil War, bagged 12 nominations, including best director for Vishnuvardhan, best story (original) for Sandeep Shrivastava.
Featuring Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani, the film also received nods in best lyrics, best music direction and best playback singers in male and female categories.
Backed by Karan Johar and Kaash Entertainment and directed by Vishnuvardhan, the film released on Amazon Prime Video on August 12 last year. It received an overwhelming response from the critics and audience.
Bollywood star Ranveer Singh’s '83' and Anurag Basu’s multistarrer 'Ludo' have secured nine and six nominations, respectively.
Taapsee Pannu-fronted 'Thappad' and Aanand L Rai’s 'Atrangi Re', starring Akshay Kumar, Dhanush and Sara Ali Khan, have been nominated in five categories each, followed by Kriti Sanon’s 'Mimi' with four nominations.
The top picks for the Best Picture category includes 'Shershaah', '83', 'Ludo', 'Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior' and 'Thappad'.
Nominations for the Best Direction are Kabir Khan ('83'), Anurag Basu ('Ludo'), Shoojit Sircar ('Sardar Udham'), Vishnuvaradhan ('Shershaah') and Anubhav Sinha ('Thappad')
The nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female) are Vidya Balan ('Sherni'), Kriti Sanon ('Mimi'), Sanya Malhotra ('Pagglait'), Kiara Advani ('Shershaah') and Taapsee Pannu ('Thappad').
The nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male) are Ranveer Singh ('83'), Vicky Kaushal ('Sardar Udham'), Sidharth Malhotra ('Shershaah'), late Irrfan Khan ('Angrezi Medium'), and Manoj Bajpayee ('Bhonsle').
The nominees for a supporting role (Female) are Gauahar Khan ('14 Phere'), Radhika Madan ('Angrezi Medium'), Lara Dutta ('Bell Bottom'), Shalini Vatsa ('Ludo'), and Sai Tamhankar ('Mimi').
Actors Jiiva ('83'), Pankaj Tripathi for ('83') and ('Ludo'), Saif Ali Khan ('Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior'), Kumud Mishra ('Thappad') have been nominated for performance In a supporting role (Male).
Noted writer Himanshu Sharma has been nominated for Best Story (Original) for 'Atrangi Re', along with Shubham for 'Eeb Allay Ooo!', Anurag Basu for 'Ludo' and Sandeep Shrivastava for “Shershaah”.
The nominees for Best Story (Adapted) are Kabir Khan and Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan for '83', Abhishek Chaubey for 'Ankahi Kahaniya', Laxman Utekar and Rohan Shankar for 'Mimi', Om Raut for 'Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior', Vijayendra Prasad for 'Thalaivii'.
In the music category, best Music Direction nominees are Pritam for 'Ludo' and '83', AR Rahman for '99 Songs' and 'Atrangi re', Tanishk Bagchi, Jasleen Royal, Javed-Mohsin, Vikram Montrose, B Praak and Jaani for 'Shershaah'.
The Playback Singer (Female) nominations are Shreya Goshal for three songs ‘Chaka Chak’ ('Atrangi Re'), ‘Priya Saraiya for Kalle Kalle’ ('Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui'), ‘Param Sundari’ ('Mimi') and Jasleen Royal for ‘Ranjha’ ('Shershaah'), Asees Kaur for ‘Raataan Lambiyan’ ('Shershaah').
In the Playback Singer (Male) category, Arijit Singh has three nominations for the songs -- ‘Lehra Do’ ('83'), ‘Rait Zara si’ (Atrangi Re) and ‘Aabaad Barbaad’ ('Ludo'). The other nominees are Jubin Nautiyal for ‘Raataan Lambiyan’ ('Shershaah') and B Praak for ‘Mann Bharryaa’ ('Shershaah').
The nominees for lyrics are Kausar Munir for the song ‘Lehre Do’ ('83'), Irshad Kamil for ‘Rait Zara Si’ ('Atrangi Re') and ‘Shayad’ ('Love Aaj Kal'), Tanishk Bagchi for ‘Raataan Lambiyan’ ('Shershaah'), B Praak and Jaani for ‘Mann Bharryaa’ ('Shershaah').
The two-day event will take place at the Middle East’s largest state-of-the-art indoor entertainment venue, Etihad Arena, part of Yas Bay Waterfront on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), and Miral, Abu Dhabi’s leading creator of immersive destinations and experiences.
[With Inputs From PTI]
