The nominations for the 64th Filmfare awards have been announced with the husband-and-wife team of Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone winning nominations for the Best Actor and Best Actress (popular) awards for Padmaavat (2018).
Alia Bhatt is another favourite for the Best Actress award for her role in Meghna Gulzar's Raazi.
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As always there are a few surprises in the nominations list. A pleasant one is the nomination for veteran Neena Gupta for the Best Actress award for Badhaai Ho. A couple of shockers are the omission of actress Zoya Hussain, who made an impressive debut in Anurag Kashyap's Mukkabaaz (2018), and Rasika Dugal, who was widely appreciated for her role of Safia in Manto opposite Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
Among films, Shoojit Sircar's critically acclaimed October didn't make it to the Best Film nominations list in the popular or the critics category. And Anubhav Sinha's Mulk also missed out.
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Instead, Rajkumar Hirani's blockbuster Sanju is among the nominations for Best Film of the year. Sanju lead star Ranbir Kapoor got a Best Actor (popular) nomination while Vicky Kaushal earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
While it is routine for some talent to go unrecognized at such awards events, Filmfare never ceases to amaze you with some bizarre selections. This year, Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif have been nominated for their roles in the big-budget disaster Zero. Khan has been nominated for the Best Actor (popular) award while Kaif has been nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
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Not only was Zero panned by critics, but the film also failed to move the masses, faring miserably at the box office.
Another surprising nomination for the Best Actor award is that of Akshay Kumar for R Balki’s Pad Man. But there was only a critics award nomination for Nawazuddin Siddiqui for his brilliant turn as Sa'adat Hassan Manto in the biopic Manto.
Vineet Kumar Singh picked up a Best Actor nomination in the critics' category for Mukkabaaz but there was none for his co-star Zoya Hussain. Gajraj Rao and Surekha Sikri earned nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, for Badhaai Ho.
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There was a surprise in the music category too with Anurag Kashyap’s Manmarziyaan bagging a nomination for Best Music, but not a single track of the film finding a place in the nominations for Best Lyrics or Best Playback Singer.
The Filmfare awards function will be held in Mumbai on 23 March 2019. Below is the list of nominations in the main categories.
Best Film: Andhadhun, Badhaai Ho, Padmaavat, Raazi, Sanju, Stree
Best Director: Amar Kaushik (Stree), Amit Sharma (Badhaai Ho), Meghna Gulzar (Raazi), Rajkumar Hirani (Sanju), Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Padmaavat), Sriram Raghavan (Andhadhun)
Best Film (critics): Andhadhun (Sriram Raghavan), Badhaai Ho (Amit Sharma), Manto (Nandita Das), Pataakha (Vishal Bhardwaj), Raazi (Meghna Gulzar), Tumbbad (Anil Rahi Barve)
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male), Popular: Akshay Kumar (Pad Man), Ayushmann Khurrana (Andhadhun), Rajkummar Rao (Stree), Ranbir Kapoor (Sanju), Ranveer Singh (Padmaavat), Shah Rukh Khan (Zero)
Critics’ award for Best Actor (Male): Ayushmann Khurrana (Andhadhun), Nawazuddin Siddiqui (Manto), Ranbir Kapoor (Sanju), Ranveer Singh (Padmaavat), Varun Dhawan (October), Vineet Kumar Singh (Mukkabaaz)
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female), Popular: Alia Bhatt (Raazi), Deepika Padukone (Padmaavat), Neena Gupta (Badhaai Ho), Rani Mukerji (Hichki), Tabu (Andhadhun)
Critics’ award for Best Actor (Female): Anushka Sharma (Sui Dhaaga: Made In India), Alia Bhatt (Raazi), Neena Gupta (Badhaai Ho), Radhika Madan (Pataakha), Tabu (Andhadhun), Taapsee Pannu (Mulk)
Click here for the full list of nominations for the 64th Filmfare awards.