Indian Film Festival of Melbourne: Vidya Balan, Manoj Bajpayee, Suriya, Samantha Akkineni win top honours

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) on Friday (20) announced the winners for its 12th edition. Diversity through Cinema was the theme of the festival, and it received an overwhelming response from across the globe.

Vidya Balan, Manoj Bajpayee, Suriya, Samantha Akkineni and others won top honours at IFFM. The award ceremony took place virtually.

Here’s the full list of the winners…

Best Feature Film - Soorarai Pottru (Tamil)

Best Performance Male (Feature) - Suriya Sivakumar (Soorarai Pottru – Tamil)

Best Performance Female (Feature) - Vidya Balan (Sherni – Hindi), Honorary Mention to Nimisha Sajayan (The Great Indian Kitchen - Malayalam)

Best Director - Anurag Basu (Ludo - Hindi), Honorary Mention to Prithvi Konanur (Pinki Elli? – Kannada)

Best Series - Mirzapur Season 2

Best Actress in a Series - Samantha Akkineni (The Family Man 2)

Best Actor in a Series - Manoj Bajpayee (The Family Man 2)

Equality in Cinema (Short Film) - Sheer Qorma

Equality in Cinema Award (Feature Film) - The Great Indian Kitchen (Malayalam)

Best Indie Film - Fire in the Mountains

Diversity in Cinema Award - Pankaj Tripathi

Best Documentary Film – Shut Up Sona

On winning Best Actress in a series for The Family Man 2, Samantha Akkineni said, "First time at this festival. To be here amongst such immense talent. I’m grateful and it’s such a huge honour. Thanks to Raj and DK to see past the cute girl image I have and to give me this role which is so different from what I have done so far. To give me this character that has so many layers and such diverse parts to it. It’s my big dive into OTT and what an amazing show to do it with."

Suriya, who won the Best Actor award, stated, "I’m sure all the nominees have given their best. This film is very special. This is the first award I’m getting for this film. This is one of the first films that came to me during the pandemic. Thanks to all the fans who have given us so much love. In my career, I felt bored with what I was doing after having worked for 20 years. So thanks to my director Sudha - this film was her 10 years dream - she worked 4 years on writing or his film. The character of Maara will not be anything without her. I couldn’t ask for more."

Vidya Balan, who won the Best Actress award for her performance in Sherni, said, “I’m thrilled to be receiving the award for Sherni which was shot during the pandemic. Thanks to my director Amit Masurkar, my producer Abundantia – who pulled all stops to make this film during these uncertain times."