The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne has unveiled nominations for its 17th edition, setting up a closely watched awards contest featuring some of Indian cinema’s biggest stars alongside independent filmmakers and emerging regional voices.
Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh, Rishab Shetty, Mammootty and Dulquer Salmaan are among the nominees for Best Performance (Male), while Rani Mukerji, Yami Gautam Dhar, Neena Gupta and Kalyani Priyadarshan headline the female acting category.
The festival will run in Melbourne from August 13 to 23, with its program spanning theatrical releases, independent films, documentaries and streaming series from India and the wider South Asian region. The 2026 edition carries the theme “Shared Stories, Shared Humanity.”
The Best Film shortlist brings together eight titles from five languages: Haq, Jarann, Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, Saiyaara, Sitaare Zameen Par, Sharthopor and The Great Shamsuddin Family.
The category places major Hindi releases alongside Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali productions, continuing the festival’s attempt to present Indian cinema as a multilingual industry rather than treating Bollywood as its sole representative.
Aamir Khan received his acting nomination for Sitaare Zameen Par, while Ahaan Panday was shortlisted for Saiyaara. Bhuman Bhargav Das was nominated for the Assamese film Not a Hero, Dulquer Salmaan for the Tamil-language Kaantha and Mammootty for the Malayalam psychological thriller Kalamkaval: The Venom Beneath.
Ranveer Singh enters the contest for Dhurandhar, while Rishab Shetty is nominated for Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1. Sanjay Mishra completes the category for Vadh 2.
Rishab Shetty is among the most strongly represented individual nominees, competing for both Best Performance and Best Director for Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1.
He faces Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari for System, Chandrasish Ray for Porshi, Mohit Suri for Saiyaara, Ramalingam Gowtham for Members of the Problematic Family, Rima Das for Not a Hero, RS Prasanna for Sitaare Zameen Par and Shazia Iqbal for Dhadak 2.
The Best Performance (Female) category includes Aneet Padda for Saiyaara, Kalyani Priyadarshan for Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, Kirti Kulhari for Full Plate, Neena Gupta for Vadh 2, Rajshri Deshpande for Baapya, Rani Mukerji for Mardaani 3, Rituparna Sengupta for Bela and Yami Gautam Dhar for Haq.
The inclusion of both Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda gives Saiyaara nominations across the male and female acting categories, as well as Best Film and Best Director for Mohit Suri.
Sitaare Zameen Par is similarly represented across Best Film, Best Director and Best Performance (Male), while Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 competes in all three categories through Rishab Shetty.
The independent film category has produced one of the festival’s most varied shortlists, featuring Ammang Haelbeda (Don’t Tell Mother), Full Plate, Kikkran De Phull (Flowers of Acacia), Lala and Poppy, Mayilaa – Semmalar Annam, Members of the Problematic Family, Not a Hero and Pankhudiyaan (Petals in the Wind).
The nominees span Kannada, Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil and Assamese, with several titles also incorporating English. Their presence alongside larger commercial productions gives independent and regional filmmakers access to an international awards platform in Melbourne.
Members of the Problematic Family, directed by Ramalingam Gowtham, has been selected as the festival’s opening-night film and will have its Australian premiere after appearing at the Berlin International Film Festival. The Tamil-language production examines grief, family relationships and tensions within communities.
Streaming productions are also competing across dedicated series and performance categories.
The Best Series nominees are Baai Tujhyapayi, Kohrra: Season 2, Matka King, Real Kashmir Football Club, Sapne Vs Everyone, The Ba**ds of Bollywood*, Perfect Family and Freedom at Midnight: Season 2.
The male series performance category includes Ambrish Verma and Paramvir Singh Cheema for Sapne Vs Everyone: Season 2, Arif Zakaria for Freedom at Midnight: Season 2, Barun Sobti for Kohrra: Season 2, Kunal Kemmu for Single Papa, Manav Kaul for Real Kashmir Football Club, Manoj Pahwa for Perfect Family and Vijay Varma for Matka King.
Anandhi, Huma Qureshi, Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli, Mona Singh, Rasika Dugal, Seema Pahwa, Shefali Shah and Swastika Mukherjee are nominated for female performances in streaming series.
Their nominated productions include Arabia Kadali, Maharani: Season 4, Kuttram Purindhavan: The Guilty One, Kohrra: Season 2, Delhi Crime: Season 3, Perfect Family and Kaalipotka.
The documentary shortlist also crosses languages, countries and subject areas.
The nominees are Madhusree Dutta’s Flying Tigers, Paromita Vohra’s Working Girls, Johnny Burke and Andrew Hinton’s Loving Karma, P Abhijith’s Njaan Revathi (I Am Revathi), Ben Rekhi and Swetlana’s Breaking the Code, Karla Murthy’s The Gas Station Attendant, Surabhi Sharma’s Music in a Village Named 1PB and Lesley Branagan’s Bride of Aravan.
The Best Film from the Subcontinent category expands the competition beyond India, with productions from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Afghanistan.
The nominees are Sand City by Mahde Hasan, Roid by Mejbaur Rahman Sumon, Spying Stars by Vimukthi Jayasundara, Ek Mutthi Badal (My Share of Sky) by Sahara Sharma, No Good Men by Shahrbanoo Sadat, Goodbye Sisters by Alexander Murphy, Delupi by Mohammad Touqir Islam and In the Room by Brishkay Ahmed.
The nominations show a deliberate balance between major stars, commercially successful films and lesser-known productions dealing with family, identity, gender, social inequality and regional experiences.
They also reflect the growing overlap between theatrical cinema and subscription streaming platforms, with performers and filmmakers now moving between feature films and long-form series rather than being confined to one format.
Winners will be selected by a jury drawn from Australia’s film industry and cultural sector. The NAB IFFM Awards Night will be held at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre at 6pm on August 13, the opening day of the main festival.
IFFM says its broader 2026 program will include premieres, screenings, conversations, masterclasses, cultural events and industry activities. More than 75 films in 31 languages are expected to be presented through cinema and online screenings available to audiences across Australia.
Rani Mukerji will attend as the festival’s chief guest and is due to receive an honorary doctorate from La Trobe University on August 14 for her contribution to Indian cinema, international cultural influence and humanitarian work.
The festival’s 2026 program follows a curtain-raiser held at ACMI on July 9 celebrating 25 years of Lagaan, where Aamir Khan appeared alongside filmmaker Kabir Khan, former Australian cricketer Steve Waugh and senior Australian screen and government representatives.
With Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh, Mammootty and Rishab Shetty competing against emerging performers and independent filmmakers, this year’s awards are shaping up as a contest between established star power and the expanding regional reach of Indian and South Asian storytelling.
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