(This article is authored by Alar)

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is back with its 14th edition, celebrating the best of Indian cinema across genres and languages. The festival has announced the nominations for its prestigious awards, which will be decided by a jury panel that includes Oscar-winning Australian filmmaker Bruce Beresford.

Among the nominees, two Tamil films have made a mark with their epic scale and stellar cast: Mani Ratnam’s historical drama ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ and Vikram’s action thriller ‘Gargi’.  The awards gala will be held on the opening day at the Australian city's iconic Hamer Hall.

‘Ponniyin Selvan’, based on the classic novel by Kalki Krishnamurthy, is a two-part saga that chronicles the rise of the Chola dynasty in medieval India. The film boasts of an ensemble cast that includes Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Prabhu, Sarath Kumar and many others. The film has been nominated at IFFM for, Best Film, Best Director (Mani Ratnam), Best Actor (Vikram), Best Actress (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan). 

‘Gargi’, directed by Gautham Ramachandran, which revolves around a innocent woman  whoholds  faith in her father's innocence drives her to fight against all odds to free him. With an amateur lawyer by her side, she sets off to seek justice. 

Both ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ and ‘Gargi’ have received critical acclaim and commercial success in India and abroad. They have also been praised for their technical excellence, production design and music. The films will compete with other notable productions from Bollywood and regional cinema, such as ‘Darlings’, ‘Monica O My Darling’, ‘Kantara’, ‘Jubilee’, Sita Ramam and ‘Dahaad’.

For the best actress category, "Darlings" star Bhatt will compete against Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ("Ponniyin Selvan"), Kajol ("Salaam Venky"), Rani Mukerji ("Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway") and Sai Pallavi ("Gargi").  The IFFM Awards 2023 will be held on August 20 at the Australian Hamer Hall. The festival will also feature screenings, masterclasses, panel discussions and cultural events from August 11 to 20th 2023.