 "Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2025: 'Stree 2', 'Homebound' lead film nominations, 'Paatal Lok', Netflix's 'Black Warrant' dominate the OTT")
The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) has officially unveiled its power-packed nominations for the 2025 edition, celebrating the best in Indian cinema and streaming content. Now in its 16th year, IFFM stands as the largest celebration of Indian film outside India, and this year’s award contenders reflect the depth, diversity, and dynamism of Indian storytelling across languages and platforms.
Supported by the Victorian Government, the festival will run from August 14 to 24, with the highly anticipated IFFM Awards Night set for August 15, honouring cinematic excellence across film and OTT categories. Winners will be selected by an esteemed jury comprising some of the most respected names in Australian cinema and cultural landscape including Garth Davis, director of Dev Patel- Nicole Kidman’s LION, Theatre Director and Film Producer - Nadia Tass.
With projects considered from June 15, 2024 to June 14, 2025, and OTT nominations restricted to platforms available in Australia, this year’s lineup spans mainstream superhits, indie revelations, regional gems, and binge-worthy series.
Among the most-nominated films and shows are “Superboys of Malegaon”, “Maharaj”, “L2: Empuraan”. On the streaming front, “Paatal Lok 2”, “CA Topper”, and “Manorathangal” dominate the series categories.
Best Film
Homebound
Kalki 2898AD
L2 : Empuraan
Maharaj
Meiyazhagan
Stree 2
Superboys of Malegaon
Best Indie Film
Angammal
Baksho bondi (Shadowbox)
Boong
Feminichi Fathima (Feminist Fathima)
Humans in the loop
Village Rockstars 2
We are Faheem and Karun
Best Actor (Male)
Abhishek Bachchan - I Want to Talk
Adarsh Gourav - Superboys of Malegaon
Gugun Kipgen - Boong
Ishaan Khatter - Homebound
Junaid Khan - Maharaj
Manoj Bajpayee - The Fable
Mohanlal - L2 : Empuraan
Vishal Jethwa - Homebound
Best Actor (Female)
Anjali Sivaraman - Bad Girl
Bhanita Das - Village Rockstars 2
Geetha Kailasam - Angammal
Kareena Kapoor Khan - The Buckingham Murders
Shamla Hamza - Feminichi Fathima (Feminist Fathima)
Sharmila Tagore - Puratawn
Shraddha Kapoor - Stree 2
Tillotama Shome - Baksho Bondi (Shadowbox)
Best Director
Aranya Sahay - Humans in the loop
Lakshmipriya Devi : Boong
Neeraj Ghaywan - Homebound
Onir - We are Faheem and Karun
Reema Kagti - Superboys of Malegoan
Rima Das - Village Rockstars 2
Varsha Bharath - Bad Girls
Vipin Radhakrishnan - Angammal
Best Web Series
Black Warrant
Gyaarah Gyaarah
Khauf
Kota Factory Season 3
Manorathangal
Paatal Lok Season 2
Thallivattam Palayam
Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper
Best Actor (Female) - Web Series
Ananya Pandey - Call Me Bae
Monika Panwar - Khauf
Nimisha Sajayan - Dabba Cartel
Parvathy Thiruvothu - Manorathangal
Rasika Dugal - Mirzapur 3
Shabana Azmi – Dabba Cartel
Tillotamma Shome - Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper
Best Actor (Male) - Web Series
Abhishek Kumar - Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam
Ali Fazal - Mirzapur Season 3
Jaideep Ahlawat - Paatal Lok Season 2
Jitendra Kumar – Kota Factory Season 3
Mammootty : Manorathangal
Manav Kaul - Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper
Zahaan Kapoor - Black Warrant
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