IIFA 2017: Udta Punjab, Neerja and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil win big at IIFA

The 18th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards concluded on a high on Sunday with Abhishek Chaubey's Udta Punjab, Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Ram Madhvani's Neerja proving big winners.

With an attendance of over 40,000 people, the awards were held at the Metlife Stadium in New Jersey. Director Karan Johar, and actor Saif Ali Khan hosted the event before performances by Alia Bhatt, Sushant Singh Rajput, Kriti Sanon and Katrina Kaif enthralled the audience.

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While Bhatt performed to some of her recent hit numbers from Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017), it was Kaif's high energy performance to hits like 'Kamli' from Dhoom 3 (2013) that marked a high point of the show.

The awards signalled a generational shift with Shahid Kapoor and Bhatt winning Best Actor and Best Actress awards, respectively, for their performance in Udta Punjab (2016). The actress also won the Style Icon of the Year award at the event.

Varun Dhawan walked away with the award for Best Actor in a Comic Role for Dishoom (2016), while Anupam Kher won the Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as the quietly supporting father in M.S. Dhoni: An Untold Story (2016).

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The big prize though went to Ram Madhvani's Neerja which beat Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Udta Punjab to win the Best Film award. However, the other big film of the year, Dangal (2016) did not receive a nomination at the event.

Neerja's terrorist, actor Jim Sarbh, also won the award for Best Actor in a Negative Performance.

The third member of the Udta Punjab trio, Diljit Dosanjh lost out on the Best Playback Singer award to Amit Mishra (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil). However, Dosanjh did win the Best Debutant (Male) award for his performance in Chaubey's film.

Disha Patani continued to charm her way through her fans' hearts by winning the Best Debutant (Female) award for her performance in M.S. Dhoni: An Untold Story.

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Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury's Pink proved the other dark horse, winning the Best Director award for Chowdhury and the Woman of the Year award for its lead actress, Taapsee Pannu.

While Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil missed out on the acting awards, it did conquer the music section. Lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya won the award for Best Lyrics for 'Channa Mereya' in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, while Pritam took home the Best Music Composer and Best Music Director award for his work in the film.

Johar's production Kapoor and Sons (2016) also won the Best Story award for Shakun Batra, Ayesha Devitre Dhillon.