Anurag Basu’s critically-acclaimed and commercially successful movie Barfi! — a touching love story between a mute and deaf boy and an autistic girl — leads the nominations for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards 2013.
While the movie has bagged 13 nominations already — which is the maximum number possible — other movies such as Vicky Donor, Gangs Of Wasseypur and Agneepath aren’t too behind in the race either as they have scored some major nominations also.
The IIFA Voting Weekend was held in March, and the resulting nominations list reflects the diverse and thriving landscape of the Hindi film industry at present.
Thirteen nods for Barfi!, is followed by nine nominations for Shoojit Sircar’s comedy film Vicky Donor, about a sperm donor. Following closely is Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur – Part I and Karan Johar’s action-packed production Agneepath.
“It’s been a phenomenal year for the Indian film industry and the nominations for this year will definitely reflect this. The growth has been remarkable,” Sabbas Joseph, director, Wizcraft International Entertainment and IIFA, said in a statement.
Other films like Cocktail, Kahaani, Paan Singh Tomar and late film-maker Yash Chopra’s last directorial Jab Tak Hai Jaan have also secured themselves a place in the 14th IIFA nominations.
This year’s awards ceremony will have directors Anurag Basu (Barfi!), Anurag Kashyap (Gangs of Wasseypur - Part I), Sujoy Ghosh (Kahaani), Tigmanshu Dhulia (Paan Singh Tomar) and Shoojit Sircar (Vicky Donor) vie for the best director trophy.
In competition for the best picture award are Barfi!, English Vinglish, Gangs of Wasseypur – Part I, Kahaani, Paan Singh Tomar, Talaash – The Answer Lies Within and Vicky Donor.
The best performance in a leading role (male) category will see Hrithik Roshan (Agneepath), Ranbir Kapoor (Barfi!), Manoj Bajpayee (Gangs of Wasseypur - Part II), Shahrukh Khan (Jab Tak Hai Jaan), Irrfan Khan (Paan Singh Tomar), and Ayushmaan Khurrana (Vicky Donor), in the run.
Among those vying for the best performance in a leading role (female) are Priyanka Chopra (Barfi!), Deepika Padukone (Cocktail), Sridevi (English Vinglish), Huma Qureshi (Gangs of Wasseypur - Part I), Kareena Kapoor (Heroine) and Vidya Balan (Kahaani).
Composer Pritam has bagged two nominations in the category for best music direction for his work in Barfi! and Cocktail, along with AR Rahman (Jab Tak Hai Jaan), Ajay-Atul (Agneepath) and Sneha Khanwalkar (Gangs of Wasseypur – Part I).
The results of the IIFA Voting Weekend were audited by KPMG. The online voting for the awards will go live on www.iifa.com, and audiences will be able to cast their votes starting May 1.
The venue and dates for this year’s IIFA gala are likely to be announced early next month.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2013.
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