The 12th International Indian Film Academy Awards 2011 in Toronto on Sunday opened with a big ‘Dabangg’ with Salman Khan’s tough cop romp scooping most of the awards, including best film and female debut for actor Sonakshi Sinha.
Best Direction went to director Karan Johar for ‘My Name is Khan’, a melodrama starring Shah Rukh Khan about Muslims facing backlash after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Khan also won Best Performance in a Leading Role (Male) for playing a man suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome in ‘My Name is Khan’.
Best Performance in a Leading Role (Female) went to actor Anushka Sharma for her performance as a feisty wedding planner in ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’.
Arjun Rampal won Best supporting actor for political drama ‘Rajneeti’ while Prachi Desai won best supporting actress for ‘Once upon a time in Mumbai.’
Actor Ranvir Singh won the award for best debut male award for his role in the romantic comedy ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’.
‘Dabangg’ led the pack in the all-important music category, taking three of four major awards and winning for best Playback Singer Female, best Playback Singer Male and best Music Director.
The blockbuster film set box-office records in India and marked the comeback of actor Salman Khan in the quirky avatar of Inspector Chulbul Pandey, making him a household name in India.
“I certainly hope we’ll sweep all the awards,” said producer Arbaaz Khan. His wife, Mallika Arora Khan, already picked up the best choreography award for her gyrating dance number in the film.
Veteran actor Dharmendra was presented with a lifetime achievement award for his 50 years of acting in Bollywood.
“I know Punjabis from India and Punjabis from Pakistan, but both have found a new home in Canada,” he said in Punjabi, referring to years of bitter feuding between India and Pakistan.
The dance performances also included acts by Ranvir Singh and Sonakshi Sinha. Riteish Deshmukh won the award for best performance in a comic role for her part in ‘Housefull’, while Sonu Sood took the prize for Best Performance in a Negative Role for his work in ‘Dabangg’.
Mamta Sharma won the award for best female playback singer for her song ‘Munni Badnaam’ in ‘Dabanng’.
The award for best male playback singer went to Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for ‘Tere Mast Mast Do Nain’ from ‘Dabanng’.
For best music direction, the award went to Sajid-Wajid and Lalit Pandit for ‘Dabangg’. The award for best story went to Shibani Bathija for ‘My Name is Khan’. It was presented by Brett Lee, Fardeen Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala.
The award for best screenplay went to Abhinav Kahsyap and Dileep Shukla for ‘Dabangg’.
For the first time at the IIFA, Star Plus channel presented the Hottest Pair award to Anushka Sharma and Ranvir Singh for which 15 million votes were cast online. “Anushka, you make me feel hot,” said Ranvir accepting the award in her company.
The first Green IIFA Award by Panasonic went to actress Priyanka Chopra.
Irrfan Khan, whom Anil Kapoor lauded for his performances on the global stage, received the IIFA award for his international performances.
