'Barfi!' leads IIFA nominations with 15 nods

New Delhi, April 22 (IANS) Anurag Basu's critically acclaimed and commercially successful movie "Barfi!" leads the nominations for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards 2013. Movies like "Vicky Donor", "Gangs Of Wasseypur" and "Agneepath" have scored major nominations too.

The IIFA Voting Weekend was held in March, and the resultant nominations list reflects the diverse and thriving landscape of the Hindi film industry at present.

The maximum 15 nominations have been bagged by "Barfi!", about love between a deaf and mute boy and an autistic girl. It is followed by nine nominations for Shoojit Sircar's comedy film "Vicky Donor", about a sperm donor. Following closely is Anurag Kashyap's "Gangs of Wasseypur - Part I" and Karan Johar's action-packed production "Agneepath".

"It's been a phenomenal year for the Indian film industry and the nominations for this year will definitely reflect this. The growth has been remarkable," Sabbas Joseph, director, Wizcraft International Entertainment and IIFA, said in a statement.

Other films like "Cocktail", "Kahaani", "Paan Singh Tomar" and late filmmaker Yash Chopra's last directorial "Jab Tak Hai Jaan" have also secured themselves a place in the 14th IIFA nominations.

This year's awards ceremony will have directors Anurag Basu ("Barfi!"), Anurag Kashyap ("Gangs of Wasseypur - Part I"), Sujoy Ghosh ("Kahaani"), Tigmanshu Dhulia ("Paan Singh Tomar") and Shoojit Sircar ("Vicky Donor") vie for the best director trophy.

In competition for the best picture award are "Barfi!", "English Vinglish", "Gangs of Wasseypur - Part I", "Kahaani", "Paan Singh Tomar", "Talaash - The Answer Lies Within" and "Vicky Donor".

The best performance in a leading role (male) category will see Hrithik Roshan ("Agneepath"), Ranbir Kapoor ("Barfi!"), Manoj Bajpayee ("Gangs of Wasseypur - Part II"), Shah Rukh Khan ("Jab Tak Hai Jaan"), Irrfan Khan ("Paan Singh Tomar"), and Ayushmaan Khurrana ("Vicky Donor"), in the run.

Among those vying for the best performance in a leading role (female) are Priyanka Chopra ("Barfi!"), Deepika Padukone ("Cocktail"), Sridevi ("English Vinglish"), Huma Qureshi ("Gangs of Wasseypur - Part I), Kareena Kapoor ("Heroine") and Vidya Balan ("Kahaani").

Composer Pritam has bagged two nominations in the category for best music direction for his work in "Barfi!" and "Cocktail", along with A.R. Rahman ("Jab Tak Hai Jaan"), Ajay-Atul ("Agneepath") and Sneha Khanwalkar ("Gangs of Wasseypur - Part I).

The results of the IIFA Voting Weekend were audited by KPMG. The online voting for the awards will go live on www.iifa.com, and audiences will be able to cast their votes starting May 1.

The announcement for the venue and dates for this year's IIFA gala are likely to be announced early next month.