IIFA Awards 2023: Drishyam 2 wins Best Picture, Alia Bhatt, Hrithik Roshan bag awards

“Drishyam 2,” featuring Ajay Devgn, clinched the coveted Best Picture award at the glitzy IIFA Awards ceremony. The event also witnessed Alia Bhatt and Hrithik Roshan securing the acting honours for their remarkable performances, with Bhatt winning the female category and Roshan in the male category.

The two-day extravaganza, held at a foreign location every year to celebrate the best of Hindi films, concluded Saturday night at the Etihad Arena, part of Yas Bay Waterfront on Yas Island.

Producers Bhushan Kumar and Kumar Mangat accepted the best picture award for “Drishyam 2”, a remake of popular Malayalam movie of the same title. The film also won the award for best adapted story.

Bhatt, who gave the ceremony a miss, was awarded best performance in a leading role – female for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi.

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Roshan lifted the IIFA trophy for best performance in a leading role – male for his work in the action-thriller film Vikram Vedha.

“I have lived with Vedha for many years now. It all began right here in Abu Dhabi. I gave my first shot as Vedha here. It feels like life has come full circle to me,” he said, thanking the director duo Pushakar and Gayatri for the role.

“Vedha has unleashed a certain madness in me that I didn’t know was within me and I held on to that madness,” said the actor, who later shook a leg with hosts Abhishek Bachchan and Vicky Kaushal on Ek Pal Ka Jeena from his debut movie “Kaho Na Pyaar Hai”.

Ranbir Kapoor and Bhatt-starrer Brahmastra: Part One Shiva registered the most wins for a film, including — best playback singer (female) for Shreya Ghoshal, best playback singer (male) for Arijit Singh (Male), best lyricist award for Amitabh Bhattacharya and best supporting actor (female) for Mouni Roy.

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Veteran actor Anil Kapoor won the award for best performance in a supporting role – male for Jugjugg Jeeyo.

Actor R Madhavan was honoured with the best direction award for his maiden filmmaking effort Rocketry: The Nambi Effect. Perveez Sheikh and Jasmeet Reen bagged the trophy for best original story for “Darlings”.

Late Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan’s son, Babil Khan, won the best debut (Male) award for the film “Qala”. He shared the award with Shantanu Maheshwari of “Gangubai Kathiawadi” fame.

Actor Khushali Kumar was adjudged the winner of best debut (female) for “Dhoka Around the Corner”.

Music maestro A R Rahman felicitated cinema icon Kamal Haasan with the Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema honour at the IIFA Awards.

“I am a child of cinema, I was born in movies. I have been here for three-and-half decades. I always feel I havent done enough. I will have to go back and work harder,” Haasan said after receiving the award.

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The awards night saw some electrifying performances from superstar Salman Khan, Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nora Fatehi and Rakul Preet Singh.

Khan showcased his dance moves as he performed on tracks like “Aaj Ki Party” from “Bajrangi Bhaijaan”, “Seeti Maar” from “Radhe”, “Aaja Soniye” from “Mujhse Shaadi Karoge” and “Jumme Ki Raat” from “Kick”.

Dhawan paid a tribute to Bollywood directors Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rohit Shetty, and Karan Johar by dancing on popular songs from their films.

Fatehi performed on old Bollywood cabaret numbers such as “Laila O Laila” and “Monica Oh My Darling”, whereas Singh paid an ode to the black-and-white era with an act on classic tracks such as “Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh” and “Pyaar Hua Ikrar Hua”.

The IIFA Awards and Weekend were held in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), and Miral, Abu Dhabi’s leading curator of immersive destinations and experiences.

(With agency inputs)