- Nominations for the 17th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2026 have been announced
- Aamir Khan, Mammootty, and Rishab Shetty lead Best Performance (Male) nominees
- Rishab Shetty is nominated in both Best Actor and Best Director categories
The nominations for the 17th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2026 are finally here. This year's list celebrates outstanding performances across Indian cinema and OTT platforms, with some of the industry's biggest names competing for top honours.
Scheduled to take place from August 13 to August 23, the festival will feature film premieres, panel discussions, masterclasses and its annual awards ceremony celebrating excellence in Indian entertainment.
Aamir Khan, Mammootty And Rishab Shetty Lead Best Actor Nominees
The Best Performance (Male) category features a star-studded line-up. Aamir Khan has been nominated for Sitaare Zameen Par, while Malayalam superstar Mammootty earned a nomination for his acclaimed performance in Kalamkaval. Kannada actor-director Rishab Shetty also secured a place among the nominees for Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1.
The remaining nominees in the category are Ahaan Panday, Bhuman Bhargav Das, Dulquer Salmaan, Ranveer Singh and Sanjay Mishra.
In the Best Performance (Female) category, the nominees include Aneet Padda, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Kirti Kulhari, Neena Gupta, Rajshri Deshpande, Rani Mukerji, Rituparna Sengupta and Yami Gautam Dhar.
Best Film Category Features Strong Competition
The Best Film category showcases a diverse mix of films from across the country. The nominated titles are Haq, Jarann, Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, Saiyaara, Sitaare Zameen Par, Sharthopor and The Great Shamsuddin Family.
Among them, Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 has emerged as one of the strongest contenders after its successful theatrical run.
The Best Director nominees are Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Chandrasish Ray, Mohit Suri, Ramalingam Gowtham, Rima Das, Rishab Shetty, R.S. Prasanna and Shazia Iqbal. Rishab Shetty has received nominations both as an actor and a director this year.
OTT And Series Categories
The festival also recognised outstanding performances in streaming content.
The nominees for Best Performance in a Series include Ambrish Verma, Arif Zakaria, Barun Sobti, Kunal Kemmu, Paramvir Singh Cheema, Manav Kaul, Manoj Pahwa, Vijay Varma, Anandhi, Huma Qureshi, Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli, Mona Singh, Rasika Dugal, Seema Pahwa, Shefali Shah and Swastika Mukherjee.
Meanwhile, the Best Series nominees are Baai Tujhyapayi, Kohrra: Season 2, Matka King, Real Kashmir Football Club, Sapne Vs Everyone, The Bastards of Bollywood, Perfect Family and Freedom at Midnight: Season 2.
This year's nominations once again highlight the diversity of Indian storytelling, with films and series across Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali and other regional languages competing on one global platform.
