Indian Film Festival of Melbourne: Sanju is best film, Rani Mukerji best actress, Manoj Bajpayee best actor

It was a night to remember for the cast and filmmakers of Sanju and for actress Rani Mukerji who won big at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne held at the Palais Theatre last night, 12 August.

The biopic on actor Sanjay Dutt, Sanju (2018) won four awards — best film, best director, best supporting actor and the Vanguard award for lead actor Ranbir Kapoor. Mukerji picked up best actress for her role in Siddharth P Malhotra's Hichki (2018), as well as the excellence in cinema award at the star-studded night.

Manoj Bajpayee won the best actor award for his performance in Gali Guleiyan/In The Shadows (2017). He said, "It is a fantastic feeling to win the award for the best actor at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. It is even more satisfying when you know that so many other films across genres and so many actors who have all done such a great job, were in competition. My character in Gali Guleiyan is a very complex one with many layers and the film itself is a difficult one to make."

The film also won special mention as an indie film. First-time director Dipesh Jain said, "I can’t be more happy that we’ve won two awards tonight. Look at the fellow nominations — they are best of the best in the industry. I’m super proud of this achievement. This award that celebrates both mainstream and indie films, shows that our film has a broader appeal with both jury and the audience."

Tabrez Noorani's directorial debut Love Sonia (2018), which opened the festival to a standing ovation, won best indie film and best supporting actress for Richa Chadha. Her co-star from Love Sonia, Freida Pinto, won the Diversity Award. Telugu film, Mahanati (2018), a biopic on the life of actress Savithri, won the Equality in Cinema award.

Composers Sachin-Jigar performed their hits at the awards shows which was attended by actress Simi Garewal, filmmaker Nikkhil Advani, film critic Rajeev Masand and Australian actress Rachel Griffiths. Host Saadiya Ali also performed her comedy routine.

Here's the full list of winners below:

Best Actor
Manoj Bajpayee - Gali Guleiyan (In The Shadows)

Best Actress
Rani Mukerji - Hichki

Best Director
Rajkumar Hirani - Sanju

Best Film
Sanju

Best Indie Film
Love Sonia

Special Mention - Indie Film
Gali Guleiyan/In The Shadows

Best Supporting Actor
Vicky Kaushal - Sanju

Best Supporting Actress
Richa Chadha - Love Sonia

Vanguard Award
Ranbir Kapoor - Sanju

Diversity Award
Freida Pinto

Equality in Cinema
Mahanati

Excellence In Cinema
Rani Mukerji

Hero Award
Ryka Gulati and Alle Sayers

BMW Short Film Competition Australia
Kauthar Abdulalim - Found

BMW Short Film Competition India
Jeyachandra Hashmi - To Let