The Family Man to Mirzapur Season 2, Amazon Prime Video wins big at IFFM 2021
The winners' list of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne was announced on Friday (August 20). Manoj Bajpayee, Vidya Balan, Samantha Akkineni and others were the grand winners at the 12th edition of the awards.
The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne was held virtually on Friday (August 20). Many celebrities attended the 12th edition of the prestigious awards, whose theme was Diversity through Cinema. Several celebrities had a big win during the award ceremony. Amazon Prime Video particularly scooped a massive victory at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2021 for The Family Man, Mirzapur Season 2, Sherni and others.
While India’s most loved hinterland crime drama Mirzapur Season 2 won in the Best Web Series category, Suriya Sivakumar and Vidya Balan, on the other hand, bagged the honours for Best Performances in leading roles for their stellar performances in Soorarai Pottru and Sherni respectively. Manoj Bajpayee won the Best Actor in a web series award.
Here is the full list of winners of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2021:
Best Performance Female (Feature) - Vidya Balan (Sherni) & Honourable mention to Nimisha Sajayan (The Great Indian Kitchen)
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)
Diversity in Cinema Award - Pankaj Tripathi
Best Feature Film - Soorarai Pottru
Best Performance Male (Feature) - Suriya Sivakumar (Soorarai Pottru)
Best Director - Anurag Basu (Ludo) & Honorary Mention Prithvi Konanur (Pinki Elli?)
Equality in Cinema (Short Film) - Sheer Qorma
Equality in Cinema Award (Feature Film) - The Great Indian Kitchen
Best Indie Film - Fire in the Mountains Disruptor Award - Sanal Kumar Sasidharan
Best Documentary Film Shut Up Sona
WHAT DID VIDYA BALAN SAY ABOUT HER WIN AT IFFM 2021?
Released on June 18, Vidya Balan won hearts by playing the role of a forest officer in Sherni. The actress won the Best Performance (Female) award for the same. Expressing her happiness, she said, “I am thrilled at receiving this award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Sherni has been special for me not only for the character I got to play but because it delved into a space, lesser-explored in cinema.”
“It's a relevant subject that needed to be told. This award is for my team. I am also thankful to the audience for all the love and this award is the icing on the cake,” Vidya Balan added.
SAMANTHA AKKINENI, MANOJ BAJPAYEE ARE HUMBLED FOR THEIR WIN AT IFFM 2021
Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha Akkineni garnered much appreciation for their roles in The Family Man 2. As they won Best Actor awards in a web series in the male and female categories, Manoj and Samantha expressed feeling honoured and happy.
Commenting on his recent achievement, Manoj Bajpayee said, “I am superbly excited and humbled for the win at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. As a character, Srikant Tiwari’s sense of conflict was his biggest highlight and it enabled me to explore the finer nuances of humour, drama, thrill, all rolled into one.”
“I will always be short of words to describe the adulation The Family Man has garnered the world over and this award just scales up the honour further. As an artist, I am inspired and motivated to do better with every role that comes my way hereon and stay true to my craft,” he concluded.
Samantha Akkineni, who made her digital debut with The Family Man, shared that winning the prestigious Indian Film Festival of Melbourne award is like a dream come true. “I am absolutely elated to receive this award. It was a dream come true for me to make a digital debut on Amazon Prime Video in The Family Man, which has captivated audiences worldwide with its gripping storyline and edge-of-the-seat thrill. “Raji” was one of the most layered and intense roles of my career that called for a lot of preparation and forced me to dig deep,” she said.
“I am thankful to Raj & DK for conceiving such a powerful female character and for being able to see me beyond the 'cute girl’ image that many couldn’t look past. I am grateful to the jury at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne for this honour and I look forward to more of such groundbreaking roles as an actor,” concluded Samantha Akkineni.
The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne is the largest of-its-kind festival in Australia, celebrating the best of Indian cinema in all its forms. The festival showcases a wide range of Indian content and encapsulates the best of entertainment from the Indian sub-continent.
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