Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par, Mohit Suri-directed Saiyaara, and Rishab Shetty’s Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 were the films that dominated the nominations for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Awards 2026, announced on Wednesday. The films left behind Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar, the highest-grossing Indian film of 2025. In the streaming section of the awards, the second season of Netflix’s critically acclaimed series Kohrra bagged the most nominations.
Full list of nominations
Best Film
Haq (Hindi)
Jarann (Marathi)
Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 (Kannada)
Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (Malayalam)
Saiyaara (Hindi)
Sitaare Zameen Par (Hindi)
Sharthopor (Bengali)
The Great Shamsuddin Family (Hindi)
Best Indie Film
Ammang Haelbeda (Don’t Tell Mother) – (Kannada)
Full Plate – (Hindi)
Kikkran De Phull (Flowers of Acacia) – (Punjabi)
Lala and Poppy – (Hindi)
Mayilaa – Semmalar Annam (Tamil)
Members of the Problematic Family – (Tamil)
Not a Hero – (Assamese, Hindi, English)
Pankhudiyaan (Petals in the Wind) – (Hindi)
Best Director
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari – System (Hindi)
Chandrasish Ray – Porshi (Bengali)
Mohit Suri – Saiyaara (Hindi)
Ramalingam Gowtham – Members of The Problematic Family (Tamil)
Rima Das – Not a Hero (Assamese, English, Hindi)
Rishab Shetty – Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 (Kannada)
R.S. Prasanna – Sitaare Zamen Par (Hindi)
Shazia Iqbal – Dhadak 2 (Hindi)
Best Performance (Male)
Aamir Khan – Sitaare Zameen Par (Hindi)
Ahaan Pandey – Saiyaara (Hindi)
Bhuman Bhargav Das – Kein Held (Not a Hero) – (Assamese)
Dulquer Salmaan – Kaantha (Tamil)
Mammootty – KalamKaval: The Venon Beneath (Malayalam)
Ranveer Singh – Dhurandhar (Hindi)
Rishab Shetty – Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 (Kannada)
Sanjay Mishra – Vadh 2 (Hindi)
Best Performance (Female)
Aneet Padda – Saiyaara (Hindi)
Kalyani Priyadarshan – Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (Malayalam)
Kirti Kulhari – Full Plate (Hindi)
Neena Gupta – Vadh 2 (Hindi)
Rajshri Deshpande – Baapya (Marathi)
Rani Mukerji – Mardaani 3 (Hindi)
Rituparna Sengupta – Bela (Bengali)
Yami Gautam Dhar – Haq (Hindi)
Best Series
Baai Tujhyapayi (Marathi)
Kohrra: Season 2 (Punjabi)
Matka King (Hindi)
Real Kashmir Football Club (Hindi)
Sapne Vs Everyone (Hindi)
The Ba***ds of Bollywood (Hindi)
Perfect Family (Hindi)
Freedom at Midnight: Season 2 (Hindi)
Best Performance (Male) – Series
Ambrish Verma – Sapne Vs Everyone: Season 2 (Hindi)
Arif Zakaria – Freedom at Midnight: Season 2 (Hindi)
Barun Sobti – Kohrra: Season 2 (Punjabi)
Kunal Khemu – Single Papa (Hindi)
Paramvir Singh Cheema – Sapne Vs Everyone: Season 2 (Hindi)
Manav Kaul – Real Kashmir Football Club (Hindi)
Manoj Pawa – Perfect Family (Hindi)
Vijay Varma – Matka King (Hindi)
Best Performance (Female) – Series
Anandhi – Arabia Kadali (Telugu)
Huma Qureshi – Maharani: Season 4 (Hindi)
Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli – Kuttram Purinshavan: The Guilty One (Tamil)
Mona Singh – Kohrra: Season 2 (Punjabi)
Rasika Dugal – Delhi Crime: Season 3 (Hindi)
Seema Pahwa – Perfect Family (Hindi)
Shefali Shah – Delhi Crime: Season 3 (Hindi)
Swastika Mukherjee – Kaalipotka (Bengali)
Best Documentary Film
Flying Tigers – Madhusree Dutta (Bengali, English, Mandarin, German, Polish)
Working Girls – Paromita Vohra (Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Bengali)
Loving Karma – Johnny Burke, Andrew Hinton (English, Monpa, Hindi)
Njaan Revathi (I am Revathi) – P. Abhijith (Tamil)
Breaking The Code – Ben Rekhi, Swetlana (English)
The Gas Station Attendant – Karla Murthy (English)
Music in a Village Named 1PB – Surabhi Sharma (Hindi)
Bride of Aravan – Lesley Branagan (Tamil)
Best Film from The Subcontinent
Sand City – Mahde Hasan (Bangladesh)
Roid – Mejbaur Rahman Sumon (Bangladesh)
Spying Stars – Vimukthi Jayasundara (Sri Lanka)
Ek Mutthi Badal (My Share of Sky) – Sahara Sharma (Nepal)
No Good Men – Shahrbanoo Sadat (Afghanistan)
Goodbye Sisters – Alexander Murphy (Nepal)
Delupi – Mohammad Touqir Islam (Bangladesh)
In The Room – Brishkay Ahmed (Afghanistan)
About IFFM 2026
The IFFM, billed as the largest celebration of Indian cinema outside India, will be held from August 13 to 23 in Melbourne, with support from the Victorian Government.
The winners will be chosen by a jury comprising some of the most respected names from Australia’s film industry and cultural landscape, ensuring a rigorous and globally informed evaluation of this year’s nominees.
The 17th edition of the festival will feature an exciting programme of movie premieres, special screenings, panel discussions, masterclasses, industry events, cultural celebrations, and the awards ceremony.