The annual Indian Film Festival of Melbourne awards 2019 took place last night at the iconic Palais theatre.
Indian films such as Simmba, Andhadhun, Super Deluxe, Kuch Kuch Hota Hain, Gully Boy, and more were awarded for their content, performances and execution.
Telstra People’s Choice Award went to Simmba, Karan Johar was honoured for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Best director award went to Sriram Raghavan for Andhadhun, Best actor to Vijay Sethupathi for Super Deluxe, Best Actress to Tabu for Andhadhun, Best Indie film to Bulbul Can Sing, Best film award to Gully Boy, PWC Equality in Cinema award an honorary award to Chuskit and Super Deluxe, and Excellence in Cinema award to Superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy walked away with the top gong of Best Film honour, whereas Vijay Sethupathi won the Best Actor for his widely acclaimed film Tamil film Super Deluxe and Tabu was named Best Actress for her performance in Andhadhun.
Zoya said, “I am so excited. I am not going to forget this evening. This is my first award in the capacity of a producer. Gully boy was our first production. This is a good start. No one makes a movie alone and this wouldn’t be possible without my producers, my co-writer, my incredible actors and every member of my cast and crew. 54 invincible artists worked on this album. I owe this night to all of them”
Upon receiving her award, Tabu said, “It’s my first time in Australia but I will remember it for the rest of my life. Thank you Sriram for writing this for me. This character is catalyst for change of roles for women that are being written and will be written in future. Thank you for trusting me with this character”
Additionally, IFFM bestowed upon superstar Shah Rukh Khan – the ‘Excellence In Cinema’ award who quoted saying, “Awards are odd because to me an art form be judged for its quality feels counter intuitive. Art is an expression and cinema is the ability to create emotions and share experiences through stories. To be an actor, is to live to know that each one is a mere illusion. When you are making a movie you can change a lot by changing the angle of the light and it strikes you that life is a lot like that as well. It’s the simple things that can alter your journey and pondering makes your story worth telling. It’s not the awards you get, it’s just the part of creating process that is an exhilarating experience for an artiste”