IIFA 2016: Bajirao Mastani, Bajrangi Bhaijaan Lead Nominations

Mumbai: Actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh's Bajirao Mastani has scored a maximum of eight nominations at the 17th edition of the NEXA International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, scheduled to take place in Madrid, Spain next month.

Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan is following closely behind with seven nominations.

The four-day IIFA gala, which aims at bringing the magic of Indian cinema to a new foreign destination every year -- thereby opening doors for Bollywood across the international market, will be held on June 23-26 this year.

Shoojit Sircar's Piku has scored six nominations while Farhan Akhtar's Dil Dhadakne Do received five nominations. Other notable mentions this year, who are also up for the awards are Badlapur, Talvar and Tanu Weds Manu Returns.

Priyanka Chopra and Tanvi Azmi, who featured in Bajirao Mastani, have been nominated in the same category for their Performance in a Supporting Role - Female. Other names who are nominated in this category are Anushka Sharma for Dil Dhadakne Do, Huma Qureshi for Badlapur - Don't Miss the Beginning and Konkana Sen Sharma for Talvar. Singer Arijit Singh has been nominated twice in the Best Playback Singer- Male category for his musical contribution in Hamari Adhuri Kahani and Roy.

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui has garnered three nominations: Performance in a Comic Role for Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Performance in a Negative Role for Badlapur and Performance in a Supporting Role- Male for Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

"I am always astounded by the number of great films that are released each year that makes Indian cinema grow exponentially with the wealth of talent seen both on screen and off. The nominations reflect a rich spectrum of the kind of cinematic aptitude Bollywood has seen this year. With the number of talented nominees in the popular categories, I urge fans to see their favourite stars and films win awards by voting soon," said Andre Timmins, director, Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the organisers of the event.

The nominees for the Performance in the Leading Role Male are Varun Dhawan (Badlapur- Don't Miss The Beginning), Salman Khan (Bajrangi Bhaijaan), Amitabh Bachchan (Piku), Ranbir Kapoor (Tamasha) and Ranveer Singh (Bajirao Mastani).

The nominees for the Performance in the Leading Role Female are Priyanka Chopra (Dil Dhadakne Do), Shraddha Kapoor (ABCD 2), Deepika Padukone (Piku), Kangana Ranaut (Tanu Weds Manu Returns) and Deepika Padukone (Bajirao Mastani).

The nominations for Best Picture are Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Piku, Talvar, Tanu Weds Manu Returns and Bajirao Mastani.

Nominees for Best Director Kabir Khan (Bajrangi Bhaijaan), Shoojit Sircar (Piku), Meghna Gulzar (Talvar), Aanand L Rai (Tanu Weds Manu Returns) and Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Bajirao Mastani).

The NEXA IIFA Awards 2016 will be hosted by Farhan Akhtar and Shahid Kapoor this year at IFEMA in Madrid. Besides hosting the highly anticipated awards night, Farhan has also been nominated for his Performance in a Supporting Role- Male for Dil Dhadakne Do.