Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha Akkineni, who starred in the film Family Man 2, were among the winners of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Awards, which were presented on Sunday. The International Film Festival of Mexico (IFFM 2024) was conducted virtually on Friday, with major luminaries from several film industries in attendance. Suriya, the Tamil actor who starred in Soorarai Pottru, was named Best Performance Male, and Vidya Balan, the actress who starred in Sherni, was named Best Performance Female.
Samantha made her digital debut in Raj and DK’s The Family Man 2, which was directed by Raj. ‘It was my first time attending,’ said the Telugu actress, who starred as the antagonist in the Amazon Prime Video programme against Manoj Bajpayee. She expressed her delight at being honoured with the award for Best Actress in a Series. “To be here in the company of such incredible talent… I’m grateful, and it’s a tremendous honour to be recognised in this way. Thank you to Raj and DK for seeing past my cute girl image and casting me in this role that is so different from anything else I have done before. I appreciate everything you have done for me. To create a character with so many layers and components that are so different from one another. It’s my first foray into the world of over-the-top television, and what an incredible show to do it with,” Samantha stated after winning.
This is Manoj Bajpayee’s second prize in the festival, following his win in 2011. In 2018, he was nominated for the Best Actor award for his performance in Gali Guleiyan. Baypayee expressed his appreciation for the platform once more. When he was awarded the Best Actor in a Series award today for his role in The Family Man 2, Bajpayee said, “Cinema or series – they are both very collaborative.” It would be extremely embarrassing for me to accept the award on my own behalf without acknowledging the other participants – Amazon, Raj and DK. However, it is the authors for the series that make a significant difference. The writers are responsible for my transformation into this persona, and I am grateful to them for allowing me to do so.”
In case you missed it, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2024 has released the whole list of award winners.
- Soorarai Pottru wins the award for best feature film.
- Suriya Sivakumar wins the award for best male performance in a feature film (Soorarai Pottru)
- Nimisha Sajayan (Sherni) received an honourable mention for her performance as the best female performance in a feature film (The Great Indian Kitchen)
- Anurag Basu (Ludo) was named Best Director, and Prithvi Konanur (Pinki Elli?) was named Honorary Mention.
- Mirzapur Season 2 is awardes the best series.
- Samantha Akkineni wins the award for best actress in a series (The Family Man 2)
- Manoj Bajpayee wins the award for best actor in a series (The Family Man 2)
- Best Short Film about Equality in Cinema – Sheer Qorma
- The Great Indian Kitchen won the Equality in Cinema Award for Best Feature Film.
- Fire in the Mountains wins the award for best independent film.
- Pankaj Tripathi receives the Diversity in Cinema Award.
- Sanal Kumar Sasidharan receives the Disruptor Award.
- Shut Up, Sona! gets the award for the best documentary film of the year.
