Salman Khan at the IIFA press conference in Mumbai on March 28
Salman Khan at the IIFA press conference in Mumbai on March 28. Image Credit: IIFA

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards has announced the nominees for 12 popular category nominations ahead of the 22nd edition that will be held at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi on May 20 and 21.

The Sidharth Malhotra-led war movie ‘Shershaah’ leads the pack with 12 nominations, while Ranveer Singh cricket biopic ‘83’ and Abhishek Bachchan-led drama ‘Ludo’ have nine and six nominations respectively, followed by ‘Thappad’ and ‘Atrangi Re’ with five and ‘Mimi’ with four nominations.

Global voting for the categories will go live April 2 and is open to everyone at https://gvote2022.iifa.com/.

The prestigious event that combines fashion, music and movies will be hosted by Bollywood stars Salman Khan and Riteish Deshmukh, and will see performances by Ananya Panday, Nora Fatehi and Varun Dhawan, among others.

Maniesh Paul, Salman Khan, Ananya Panday, and Varun Dhawan kicks off IIFA press conference in Mumbai
Maniesh Paul, Salman Khan, Ananya Panday, and Varun Dhawan kicks off IIFA press conference in Mumbai Image Credit: Supplied

“I have always followed every IIFA performance over the years since my childhood. I used to record them. I am nervous and grateful they chose me to perform this year. I am so excited,” said Panday in Hindi at the press conference held on March 28 in Mumbai.

“Performing at IIFA is always a sheer delight. We all missed IIFA during the pandemic, and now it’s back with a bang and I’m extremely happy to be a part of it. I am excited for this incredible industry reunion at the 22nd edition of the IIFA Awards at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi,” Dhawan said in a statement.

The 22nd edition of the IIFA Awards is being held in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), and Miral.

Tickets are on sale and are priced at Dh110, Dh220, Dh330, Dh440, Dh550, Dh1,000 and Dh1,350. They will be available through the venue’s official website, www.etihadarena.ae/en/box-office, while fans can also head to yasisland.ae to snap up a travel package to attend the celebrity event.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

Best Picture: ‘Shershaah’, ‘83’, ‘Ludo’, ‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’ and ‘Thappad’.

Best Direction: Kabir Khan (‘83’), Anurag Basu (‘Ludo’), Shoojit Sircar (‘Sardar Udham’), Vishnuvaradhan (‘Shershaah’) and Anubhav Sinha (‘Thappad’).

Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female): Vidya Balan (‘Sherni’), Kriti Sanon (‘Mimi’), Sanya Malhotra (‘Pagglait’), Kiara Advani (‘Shershaah’), and Taapsee Pannu (‘Thappad’).

Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male): Ranveer Singh (‘83’), Vicky Kaushal (‘Sardar Udham’), Sidharth Malhotra (‘Shershaah’), late Irrfan Khan (‘Angrezi Medium’), and Manoj Bajpayee (‘Bhonsle’).

Performance In A Supporting Role (Female): Gauahar Khan (‘14 Phere’), Radhika Madan (‘Angrezi Medium’), Lara Dutta (‘Bell Bottom’), Shalini Vatsa (‘Ludo’), and Sai Tamhankar (‘Mimi’).

Performance In A Supporting Role (Male): Jiiva (‘83’), Pankaj Tripathi (‘83’), Pankaj Tripathi (‘Ludo’), Saif Ali Khan (‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’), Kumud Mishra (‘Thappad’).

Music Direction: Pritam (‘83’), AR Rahman (‘99 Songs’), AR Rahman (‘Atrangi Re’), Pritam (‘Ludo’), Tanishk Bagchi, Jasleen Royal, Javed-Mohsin, Vikram Montrose, B Praak, Jaani (‘Shershaah’).

Playback Singer (Female): Shreya Goshal for the song ‘Chaka Chak’ (‘Atrangi Re’), Priya Saraiya for ‘Kalle Kalle’ (‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’), Shreya Ghoshal for ‘Param Sundari’ (‘Mimi’), Jasleen Royal for ‘Ranjha’ (‘Shershaah’), Asees Kaur for ‘Raataan Lambiyan’ (‘Shershaah’).

Playback Singer (Male): Arijit Singh for the song ‘Lehra Do’ (‘83’), Arijit Singh for ‘Rait Zara Si’ (‘Atrangi Re’), Arijit Singh for ‘Aabaad Barbaad’ (‘Ludo’), Jubin Nautiyal for ‘Raataan Lambiyan’ (‘Shershaah’), B Praak for ‘Mann Bharryaa’ (‘Shershaah’).

Best Story (Original): Himanshu Sharma (‘Atrangi Re’), Shubham for (‘Eeb Allay Ooo!’), Anurag Basu (‘Ludo’), Sandeep Shrivastava (‘Shershaah’).

Best Story (Adapted): Kabir Khan, Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan (Based on ICC World CUp 1983) (‘83’), Abhishek Chaubey, Hussain Haidry (‘Ankahi Kahaniya’), Laxman Utekar, Rohan Shankar (‘Mimi’), Om Raut (‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’), Vijayendra Prasad (‘Thalaivii’).

Lyrics: Kausar Munir for the song ‘Lehre Do’ (‘83’), Irshad Kamil for the song ‘Rait Zara Si’ (‘Atrangi Re’), Irshad Kamil for the song ‘Shayad’ (‘Love Aaj Kal’), Tanishk Bagchi for the song ‘Raataan Lambiyan’ (‘Shershaah’), B Praak, Jaani for the song ‘Mann Bharryaa’ (‘Shershaah’).