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Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2025 announces its winners – Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aditi Rao Hydari, Arvind Swamy & Neeraj Ghaywan among top honourees
The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2025 hosted their annual Awards Night, celebrating the very best in Indian cinema. In a night filled with applause, emotion, and cinematic pride, filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan's poignant drama Homebound emerged as a double winner, taking home the titles of Best Film and Best Director.
Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan was honoured with the prestigious Excellence in Cinema Award, recognising his decades-long contribution to the craft and his unmatched influence on the industry. The Best Actor (Male) award was presented to Abhishek Bachchan for his stellar performance in I Want to Talk, with a Special Mention going to Gugun Kigpen for Boong.
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The winners across all categories reflected the diversity and depth of talent in Indian cinema today:
IFFM 2025 Award Winners – Complete List
* Best Film: Homebound
* Best Director: Neeraj Ghaywan (Homebound)
* Best Indie Film: Angammal
* Best Actor (Male) – Film: Abhishek Bachchan (I Want to Talk)
* Special Mention – Best Actor (Male) – Film: Gugun Kigpen (Boong)
* Best Actor (Female) – Film: Geetha Kailasam (Angammal)
* Best Series: Black Warrant
* Best Actor (Male) – Series: Jaideep Ahlawat (Paatal Lok Season 2)
* Best Actor (Female) – Series: Nimisha Sajayan (Dabba Cartel)
* Excellence in Cinema: Aamir Khan
* Leadership in Cinema: Arvind Swamy
* Disruptor Award: Vir Das
* Diversity in Cinema: Aditi Rao Hydari
* Equality in Cinema: Baksho Bondi
* Best Short Film (India) - Kalar Pencils by Dhananjay Santosh Goregaonkar
* Best Short Film (Australia) - Drifters by David Liu
Aamir Khan expressed on his win, 'I have been attracted to telling stories from a very young age. Filmmaking is a collaborative art and this award and recognition wouldn't have been possible without my writers, directors, co-stars, and the audiences who have given me the opportunity to tell the stories and be part of the many stories i have been part of'.
Arvind Swamy expressed, 'I'm still a student of cinema even though i have been given leadership in cinema for my work. If anyone offers me role event today that's in my comfort zone, i wouldn't do it, i always want roles that challenge me. I'm grateful for the recognition to he given the Leadership in Cinema award at IFFM 2025'.
An emotional Abhishek Bachchan who won the best actor award, said, ' Life has come a full circle for me. I came here in 2022 where i was feted with the excellence in cinema award for my body of work. But this is an emotional moment for me to get the best actor on this very stage and be recognised for my role in a film that's extremely special to me. It was 3 years back in Melbourne at this same festival where Shoojit Da offered me this role in I Want To Talk. It was Shoojit Da who believed in me that i could pull off this role and this role is an ode to my father and my daughter because it's about caring and raising a parent'.
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The 16th edition of IFFM has once again brought together filmmakers, actors, and audiences in a shared celebration of creativity, culture, and cinematic excellence — cementing its place as the largest Indian film festival outside of India. The festival will continue till 24th August where Homebound will be the closing film.
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