Held with Glamour and Panache

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2015 awards night was held in the spirit of celebrating the theme of "equality" through a spectacular fashion show and honouring the best of Indian cinema Down Under.

The state minister for creative industries Martin Foley said theme of equality will be explored through a special program of films, the Western Union short film competition and a panel event featuring Australian and Indian guests.

The gala event for the took place at the iconic National Gallery of Victoria attended by several luminaries and high-status dignitaries including Australian High Commissioner to India Patrick Suckling, Indian High Commissioner Navdeep Suri, Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt, Anil Kapoor, Simi Grewal, Sonam Kapoor, film director Shojit Sircar, Rajeev Masand. 

The award ceremony, a special event of this year's festival, coincided with the 69th Indian Independence Day celebrations for the first time. Celebrations were held at the iconic Federation Square building in the morning where Anil Kapoor and Suri hoisted the tricolour flag along with a massive crowd of Indian community.

The IFFM award 2015 for the best film was given to "Piku", best director award went to Shoojit Sircar and Bhumi Pednekar of "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" picked her first award for the best actress while best actor award was given to Irfan Khan for his performance in "Piku". "Kaka Muthai" received the best indie film award and Best Telstra People's Choice Award was given to Rajkumar Hirani for "PK". Anil was conferred with a special award for excellence in the world cinema. 

Victorian special minister Gavin Jennings congratulated the IFFM for organising the Bollywood event in the state which he said represented the true nature of multiculturalism of the state. The award ceremony collided with the "Equality Fashion Show" which displayed collections of five leading designers from both India and Melbourne including Anamika Khanna, Gaurav Gupta, Roopa Pemmaraju, Susan Dimasi and Richard Nylon. The Finale for the fashion event was presented by Anamika where Sonam, stunningly dressed in white with heavy gold embellishments, walked the ramp as the showstopper. The proceeds from the fashion show will be given to the Royal Children's Hospital under a new partnership between the hospital and IFFM. The Festival is scheduled to close curtains on August 27th, with the world premiere of the much awaited "Phantom" by Kabir Khan starring Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif.