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Mumbai, July 10
Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par, Mohit Suri’s Saiyaara, Rishab Shetty’s Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1 and the acclaimed web series Kohrra Season 2 are among the leading nominees for the 2025 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Awards, which recognize excellence in Indian cinema and streaming content across languages, genres and platforms.
The awards celebrate achievements in films, web series and documentaries released over the past year. The 17th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will be held from August 13 to 23 with the support of the Victorian Government. The Best Film category includes Sitaare Zameen Par, Kantara: A Legend Chapter 1, Haq, Saiyaara, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, Jarann, Sharthopor and The Great Shamsuddin Family. The nominees for Best Director are Mohit Suri, Rishab Shetty, R.S. Prasanna, Shazia Iqbal, Rima Das, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and Ramalingam Gowtham.
In the acting categories, Aamir Khan, Rishab Shetty, Ranveer Singh, Mammootty, Dulquer Salmaan and Sanjay Mishra have been nominated for Best Performance Male. The Best Performance Female nominees include Rani Mukerji, Yami Gautam Dhar, Neena Gupta, Kirti Kulhari, Aneet Padda, Rajshri Deshpande, Kalyani Priyadarshan and Rituparna Sengupta. The streaming categories feature Kohrra Season 2, Matka King, Freedom at Midnight Season 2, Ba**ds of Bollywood*, Sapne Vs Everyone, Perfect Family, Real Kashmir Football Club and Baai Tujhyapayi in the Best Series category. Barun Sobti, Vijay Varma, Arif Zakaria, Kunal Kemmu, Manoj Pahwa, Shefali Shah and Rasika Dugal are among the nominees in the acting categories for web series.
The awards also recognize independent films, documentaries and films from across the Indian subcontinent, highlighting stories from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Winners will be selected by a jury comprising members of Australia’s film industry and cultural community. Apart from the awards ceremony, the festival will feature film premieres, special screenings, panel discussions, masterclasses, industry events and cultural programmes celebrating Indian cinema on the global stage.
