IIFA Awards 2018: Vidya Balan, Irrfan Khan, Newton, Ashwini Iyer Tiwari — our picks for top honours

The 19th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards is right around the corner. Everyone is gearing up for a star-studded weekend involving Bollywood’s best getting recognised for their talent to fashion disasters on the red carpet, and everything in between. This year’s nominations have usual biggies of the B-Town and some unexpected names for their second-to-none performances. Tumhari Sulu, starring Vidya Balan, has bagged seven nominations; will she earn the Best Actor (Female) award or will Zaira Wasim from Secret Superstar get hold of the trophy this year? While some are rooting for Rajkummar Rao’s critically acclaimed film Newton, others still cannot get over Irrfan Khan’s effortless acting in Hindi Medium. [caption id=“attachment_4478425” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Vidya Balan and Rajkummar Rao. Facebook[/caption] Who will make the final cut and rise above all at the IIFA Awards 2018? Well, we will have to wait till 24 June to witness that. Nonetheless, here are our predictions of winners across all the merit categories:

Best Film

• Bareilly Ki Barfi
• Hindi Medium
• Newton
• Toilet – Ek Prem Katha
• Tumhari Sulu

Our prediction: Newton After premiering in the Forum section of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival and taking Indian cinema to the 90th Academy Awards as an entry for the Best Foreign Language Film, Newton not only won hearts but an array of awards. Directed by Amit V Masurkar, the movie secured the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi along with the Best Film (Critics) at both  Filmfare Awards  and  Star Screen Awards . Hindi Medium,  featuring Irrfan Khan and Saba Qamar, which claimed the Filmfare Award for Best Film, also stands as a strong contender here. [caption id=“attachment_4083283” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Rajkummar Rao in Newton. Screenshot taken from YouTube.[/caption]

Best Director

• Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari - Bareilly Ki Barfi
• Saket Chaudhary - Hindi Medium
• Anurag Basu - Jagga Jasoos
• Amit V Masurkar - Newton
• Suresh Triveni - Tumhari Sulu

Our prediction: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari Bareilly Ki Barfi , a romedy based on the French novel The Ingredients of Love by Nicolas Barreau, starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Kriti Sanon, and Rajkummar Rao, received eight nominations at the 63rd Filmfare Awards. Tiwari took home the Black Lady for Best Director, prevailing over Advait Chandan (Secret Superstar), Saket Chaudhary (Hindi Medium), Shashank Khaitan (Badrinath Ki Dulhania) and Shree Narayan Singh (Toilet: Ek Prem Katha). It will not be an unpleasant sight to see the IIFA for Best Director being bestowed upon Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari.

Best Actor (Female)

• Alia Bhatt - Badrinath Ki Dulhania
• Sridevi - Mom
• Zaira Wasim - Secret Superstar
• Bhumi Pednekar - Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
• Vidya Balan - Tumhari Sulu

Our prediction: Vidya Balan Even though  Secret Superstar ’s Zaira Wasim stood out as the Critic’s choice for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards and late Sridevi raked in a National Award for MOM , Vidya Balan leads the pack here with her impeccable performance in Tumhari Sulu . Sulu collected her fifth Screen Award and fourth Filmfare Award for the Best Actress. It will not be surprising if Vidya takes home another accolade for her comedy-drama. [caption id=“attachment_4195893” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Vidya Balan in Tumhari Sulu/Image from @PeepingMoon[/caption]

Best Actor (Male)

• Irrfan Khan - Hindi Medium
• Ranbir Kapoor - Jagga Jasoos
• Adil Hussain - Mukti Bhawan
• Rajkummar Rao - Newton
• Akshay Kumar - Toilet: Ek Prem Katha

Our prediction: Irrfan Khan The odds seem to be in Irrfan ’s favour for this award, thanks to his unforgettable act in Hindi Medium . Khan won the Best Actor at Screen Awards and Filmfare Awards, standing tall against his peers including Rajkummar Rao and Akshay Kumar who have been nominated in the same category at IIFA 2018. Rao was the Critic’s choice for Best Actor at the Screen Awards and is a strong competitor to give Irrfan a run for his money. [caption id=“attachment_3411386” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Irrfan Khan and Saba Qamar in a still from Hindi Medium. YouTube[/caption]

Best Actor In Supporting Role (Female)

• Seema Pahwa - Bareilly Ki Barfi
• Tabu - Golmaal Again
• Meher Vij - Secret Superstar
• Seema Pahwa - Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
• Neha Dhupia - Tumhari Sulu

Our prediction: Tie between Meher Vij and Neha Dhupia This category has Meher Vs Neha written all over. Both actresses successfully portrayed never-before-seen characters which tried to break the monotony of typical Bollywood movies. Vij got her hands on the Filmfare Award whereas Neha (along with Meher in a tie) was the recipient Screen Award. Only time will tell who triumphs at the IIFA 2018.

Best Actor In Supporting Role (Male)

• Rajkummar Rao - Bareilly Ki Barfi
• Deepak Dobriyal - Hindi Medium
• Nawazzuddin Siddiqui - Mom
• Pankaj Tripathi - Newton
• Vijay Maurya - Tumhari Sulu

Our prediction: Rajkummar Rao Although Nawazzuddin stole the show with his acting in Sridevi ’s 300th film, MOM, Rajkummar Rao raised the bar by a couple of notches as a mild-mannered UP boy in Bareilly Ki Barfi. Rao not only won the Screen Award in this category, he made his presence felt at the Filmfare Awards too. [caption id=“attachment_4365657” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Sridevi in a still from MOM. YouTube[/caption]

Best Story

• Amit V Masurkar - Newton
• Siddharth-Garima - Toilet: Ek Prem Katha
• Suresh Triveni - Tumhari Sulu

Our prediction: Amit V Masurkar  Each of the three movies brought in a wave of freshness with their unprecedented storyline and delivered an experience to remember. However, Newton managed to rope in a Filmfare Award for Best Original Story to its credit amidst all the controversies . The winner in this class of awards might be surprising, who knows!

Best Music Direction

• Amaal Mallik, Tanishk Bagchi, Akhil Sachdeva - Badrinath Ki Dulhania
• Pritam - Jagga Jasoos
• Tanishk Bagchi, Guru Randhawa, Rajat Nagpal, Amartya Rahut, Santanu Ghatak - Tumhari Sulu

Our prediction: Pritam Music from all the movies nominated ruled everyone’s playlists to cities’ most popular clubs across the country. Pritam  managed to score the Filmfare award for Best Music director and it will not be a moment of bewilderment if he walks to the IIFA stage to receive this award as well. [caption id=“attachment_3612807” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] A still from Jagga Jasoos. Image from Facebook[/caption] (Also read — IIFA Awards 2018: Kevin Spacey's lungi dance, Ranveer proposing to Deepika — best moments over the years)