Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan’s shifting drama Homebound dominated the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2025 awards night time, bagging the coveted honours of greatest movie and greatest director.
Ghaywan’s film, starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jetwa and Janhvi Kapoor, triumphed at the annual gala, which honours the most effective of Indian cinema on a world stage, on Friday night time.
Homebound, which explores themes of belonging, displacement and the emotional complexities of returning house, will even function the pageant’s closing movie on August 24.
Apart from Ghaywan’s double win, the night additionally noticed Bollywood star Aamir Khan obtain the distinguished Excellence in Cinema Award for his decades-long contribution to the trade.
“I’ve been drawn to telling tales from a really younger age. Filmmaking is a collaborative artwork and this award and recognition wouldn’t have been potential with out my writers, administrators, co-stars, and the audiences who’ve given me the chance to inform the tales and be half of the various tales I’ve been half of,” Aamir, who most recently starred in critical hit Sitaare Zameen Par, said in a statement.
Abhishek Bachchan was named best actor (Male) for his performance in filmmaker Shoojit Sircar’s I Want to Talk, while Geetha Kailasam won best actor (Female) for Angammal, which also won best indie film award.
“Life has come a full circle for me. I came here in 2022 where I was feted with the excellence in cinema award for my body of work. But this is an emotional moment for me to get the best actor on this very stage and be recognised for my role in a film that’s extremely special to me.
Abhishek Bachchan along with his Best Actor award for ‘I Want To Talk’.
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On the streaming aspect, the most effective sequence award went to filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane’s Black Warrant. Jaideep Ahlawat was recognised as greatest actor (Male) for Paatal Lok season two, whereas Nimisha Sajayan earned greatest actor (Female) for Dabba Cartel.
ALSO READ: Cannes 2025: Neeraj Ghaywan embraces Karan Johar as ‘Homebound’ receives 9-minute standing ovation
The winners additionally included actor-comedian Vir Das, who acquired the Disruptor Award, Aditi Rao Hydari, honoured for Diversity in Cinema, and Arvind Swamy, recognised with the Leadership in Cinema Award.
The awards additionally spotlighted brief movies, with greatest brief movie (India) awarded to Kalar Pencils by Dhananjay Santosh Goregaonkar and greatest brief movie (Australia) to Drifters by David Liu. Now in its sixteenth 12 months, IFFM is the biggest Indian movie pageant exterior India. It will conclude on August 24.
