The celebrated IIFA Awards took over the city of New York with a dazzling awards show bringing together the biggest names of Bollywood in celebration of Indian Cinema. Giving Indian cinema a global platform, the Awards was held at the iconic MetLife Stadium at New York, USA.
This year the IIFA Awards stage saw Bollywood's most dynamic duo- the talented stars Karan Johar and Saif Ali Khan - host India's most awaited awards ceremony. The pair amazed the crowd present with their quick wit and zingers as leaving them in splits with their amusing one-liners and on-stage chemistry.
The IIFA Awards, the finale of the IIFA Weekend saw a host of stellar performances and acts. The show kicked off with Alia Bhatt performing on the Awards stage for the very first time since her debut in Bollywood five years ago. The night featured spellbinding performances by Bollywood superstars- Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Shahid Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon, to name a few.
Bollywood's Youth Icon, Varun Dhawan performed on the IIFA Awards stage with a stunning performance celebrating his father's legacy in Bollywood. This year, IIFA presented the Woman of the Year Award to actress Taapsee Pannu and The Myntra Style Icon to Alia Bhatt. The award night included legendary actor Anil Kapoor and Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO - Viacom18 honoring A.R. Rahman for his illustrious career and work as they celebrated his 25 years in the industry.
The IIFA Awards Winners:
· Best Picture- Neerja
· Best Story- Ayesha Devitre Dhillon, Shakun Batra (Kapoor & Sons)
· Best Performance in a comic role- Varun Dhawan (Dishoom)
· Best Direction- Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury (Pink)
· Best Actor in a leading role Female- Alia Bhatt (Udta Punjab)
· Best Actor in a leading role Male- Shahid Kapoor (Udta Punjab)
· Best Lyricist- Amitabh Bhattacharya (Channa Mereya)
· Best Music Director-Pritam (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)
· Best Negative Role- Jim Sarbh (Neerja)
· Best Playback Singer Female- Kanika Kapoor (Udta Punjab- Da Da Dasse) and Tulsi Kumar (Airlift- Soch Na Sake)
· Best Playback singer Male- Amit Mishra(Ae Dil Hai Mushkil- Bulleya)
· Supporting Actor Female- Shabana Azmi (Neerja)
· Supporting Actor Male Anupam Kher (M.S. Dhoni)
· Myntra Style Icon Award-Alia Bhatt
· Woman of the Year- Taapsee Pannu
· Best Debut Male- Diljit Dosanjh (Udta Punjab)
· Best Debut Female- Disha Patani(M.S. Dhoni)
IIFA continues on its journey with strength to grow every year in the world of entertainment and building the outreach as a major event globally to bring positive results and impact. This year is set to be one of the biggest, most extravagant and amazing IIFA Weekends to date. Keep up to date with all the latest news and details on IIFA by logging on to www.iifa.com or checking out the social media handles:
About IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) Conceptualized and produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. and supported by the key members of the Indian film fraternity, IIFA is the most appreciated South Asian film academy and a global platform that gives the Indian film fraternity an opportunity to reach audiences in international territories. The alliances made via the platform of IIFA provide huge benefits and gain to India but an equally important objective of this prestigious brand is to create similar outcomes in its host country. The aim is to establish a system of mutual benefit to both India as well as the host destinations by boosting tourism, economic development, trade, culture, cross-border investments and film co-productions.
Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd promotes the IIFA Weekend & Awards globally each year and travel to new, exciting and beautiful destinations, taking the film fraternity with it to unite and celebrate the best of Indian film and culture, thereby taking Indian Cinema and India to a wider audience. www.iifa.com.