Festival of Melbourne 2023 nominations: Indian films Darlings, Kantara, Jubilee and more leads

Darlings, Kantara, Ponniyin Selvan 1 and 2, Jubilee, and Trial By Fire are among the 2023 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne nominees. The awards commemorate Indian cinema's best and highlight diversity and inclusiveness.

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2023 nominees have been announced, with 'Darlings,' 'Kantara,' 'Agra,' 'The Storyteller,' 'Sita Ramam,' and 'Ponniyin Selvan 1 and 2' dominating the film categories. 'Jubilee' and 'Trial By Fire' top the nominations in the series category. The nominees for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne's (IFFM) highly awaited awards have been released. IFFM, the largest Indian film festival held outside of India, continues to enchant worldwide viewers.

This year's festival welcomes a new member to its elite judging panel: Oscar-winning Australian filmmaker Bruce Beresford, known for directing critically acclaimed films such as "Driving Miss Daisy" and "The Contract."

After careful study of hundreds of films and series from across Indian cinema, the IFFM advisory committee has finalised the nominees for films and series to be released between 1st June 2022 and 31st May 2023. Leading the pack in the film categories, including Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Actress, are famous productions such as 'Darlings,' 'Monica O My Darling,' 'Ponniyin Selvan,' and 'Kantara.' The nominees showcase Indian cinema's diversity and depth, recognising both blockbusters and indie treasures on the same platform.

Series such as 'Trial By Fire,' 'Jubilee,' and 'Delhi Crime Season 2' have received the most nominations in the OTT category. With their captivating tales, superb performances, and extraordinary production qualities, these exceptional programmes have made a huge effect. Only series on platforms that are accessible to stream in the Australian market were considered for OTT nominations.

The renowned IFFM 2023 Awards winners will be announced during the festival, during their annual gala night on August 11, 2023, at Melbourne's landmark Hamer Hall.

Here is the complete list of nominees:

Best Film

Bhediya – Hindi

Brahmastra – Hindi

Darlings – Hindi

Jogi – Punjabi

Kantara – Kannada

Monica, O My Darling – Hindi

Pathaan – Hindi

Ponniyin Selvan 1 and 2 – Tamil

Sita Ramam – Telugu

Best Indie Film

Aatma Pamphlet – Marathi

Agra – Hindi

All India Rank – Hindi

Family – Malayalam

Gulmohar – Hindi

Hadinelentu (Seventeeners) – Kannada

Joram – Hindi

Pine Cone – Hindi

The Storyteller – Hindi

Tora’s Husband – Assamese

Zwigato – Hindi

Best Director

Anant Mahadevan – The Storyteller

Anurag Kashyap – Kennedy

Ashish Avinash Bende - Aatma-Pamphlet (Autobio-Pamphlet)

Devashish Makhija – Joram

Don Palathara - Family

Kanu Behl - Agra

Mani Ratnam – Ponniyin Selvan 1 and 2

Nandita Das – Zwigato

Prithvi Konanur – Hadinelentu (Seventeeners)

Rima Das – Tora’s Husband

Siddharth Anand – Pathaan

Vasan Bala – Monica, O My Darling

Best Actor (Male)

Dulquer Salmaan - Sita Ramam

Kapil Sharma - Zwigato

Manoj Bajpayee - Joram

Manoj Bajpayee - Gulmohar

Mohit Agarwal - Agra

Paresh Rawal - The Storyteller

Rajkummar Rao – Monica, O My Darling

Rishab Shetty - Kantara

Shah Rukh Khan - Pathaan

Vijay Varma - Darlings

Vikram – Ponniyin Selvan 1 and 2

Best Actor (Female)

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan – Ponniyin Selvan 1 and 2

Akshatha Pandavapura – Koli Esru

Alia Bhatt – Darlings

Bhumi Pednekar – Bheed

Kajol - Salaam Venky

Mrunal Thakur – Sita Ramam

Neena Gupta - Vadh

Rani Mukherjee – Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway

Sai Pallavi – Gargi

Sanya Malhotra – Kathal

Best Series

Dahaad

Delhi Crime Season 2

Farzi

Jubilee

SHE Season 2

Suzhal: The Vortex

The Broken News

Trial By Fire

Best Actor (Male) - Series

Abhay Deol – Trial By Fire

Abhishek Bachchan – Breathe - Into The Shadows Season 2

Aparshakti Khurana – Jubilee

Prosenjit Chatterjee – Jubilee

Shahid Kapoor – Farzi

Sidhant Gupta – Jubilee

Vijay Sethupathi – Farzi

Vijay Varma – Dahaad

Best Actor (Female) – Series

Rajshri Deshpande – Trial By Fire

Rasika Dugal – Delhi Crime Season 2

Shefali Shah – Delhi Crime Season 2

Shriya Pilgaonkar – The Broken News

Sriya Reddy – Suzhal: The Vortex

Tillotama Shome – Delhi Crime Season 2

Wamiqa Gabbi – Jubilee

Best Documentary

Against The Tide

Dharti Latar Re Horo - (Tortoise Under The Earth)

Fatima

Kucheye Khoshbakht (And, Towards Happy Alleys)

To Kill A Tiger

While We Watched

ABOUT INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL OF MELBOURNE
IFFM is the first Indian film festival outside of India that another country's government supports, and as such, it stands out as a spectacular celebration of Indian cinema and cultural interchange. The OTT Awards, now in their third year, will recognise exceptional performances in three categories.

Melbourne's Indian Film Festival has continually pushed boundaries and presented the finest of Indian film to a worldwide audience. The festival continues to foster innovation, creativity, cultural diversity, and inclusion with the help of its committed judges and industry experts.