Manoj Bajpayee, Mohanlal, Kareena, Sharmila nominated for Best Actors at IFFM

Kareena Kapoor Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Mohanlal, and Sharmila Tagore are among the top contenders at IFFM 2025. Leading film and web series nominations have been announced, with the festival also honouring Guru Dutt’s legacy through special screenings of his classic films.

Mumbai: Manoj Bajpayee, Mohanlal, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sharmila Tagore nominated for Best Actors, while Homebound, Kalki 2898AD and L2 : Empuraan among others lead Best Film nominations at the upcoming Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2025.

Homebound, Kalki 2898AD, L2: Empuraan, Maharaj, Meiyazhagan, Stree 2, and Superboys of Malegaon have been nominated in the Best Film category.

---

For the Best Actor (Male), names such as Abhishek Bachchan, Adarsh Gourav, Gugun Kipgen, Ishaan Khatter, Junaid Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Mohanlal, and Vishal Jethwa are contending in the category.

Anjali Sivaraman, Bhanita Das, Geetha Kailasam, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Shamla Hamza, Sharmila Tagore, Shraddha Kapoor, and Tillotama Shome have been nominated for Best Actor (Female).

Aranya Sahay, Lakshmipriya Devi, Neeraj Ghaywan, Onir, Reema Kagti, Rima Das, Varsha Bharath, and Vipin Radhakrishnan have been named in the Best Director category.

For the Best Web Series category, Black Warrant, Gyaarah Gyaarah, Khauf, Kota Factory Season 3, Manorathangal, Paatal Lok Season 2, Thallivattam Palayam and Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper are in contention.

Supported by the Victorian Government, the festival will run from August 14 to 24. Winners will be selected by an esteemed jury comprising some of the most respected names in Australian cinema and cultural landscape, including Garth Davis, director of Dev Patel- Nicole Kidman’s LION, Theatre Director and Film Producer – Nadia Tass.

Talking about the contenders in Best Actors (Male and Female) in a Web Series, include Ananya Pandey, Monika Panwar, Nimisha Sajayan, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Rasika Dugal,

Shabana Azmi, Tillotamma Shome, Abhishek Kumar, Ali Fazal, Jaideep Ahlawat, Jitendra Kumar, Mammootty, Manav Kaul, and Zahaan Kapoor. The festival will also be celebrating Guru Dutt’s legacy with ‘Pyaasa’, ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ screenings. “Pyaasa” stars Guru Dutt, Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman, Rehman, and Johnny Walker.

The drama film, which was directed by Guru Dutt, was set in Calcutta and told the story of Vijay, a disillusioned Urdu poet whose works are underestimated by publishers and criticized for focusing on social issues rather than romantic themes.

Guru Dutt’s 1959 romantic drama “Kaagaz Ke Phool” is the first Indian film in CinemaScope and the last film officially directed by him. It marked a technical revolution in Indian cinematography and is widely considered to be ahead of its time.

The film is a part of the syllabi in many film schools and is considered to be the finest self-reflective film to have ever been made in India.