Manoj Bajpayee and Rani Mukerji were awarded Best Actors at the 2018 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne for their performance in Gali Guleiyan and Hichki, respectively. “It is a fantastic feeling to win the award for the Best Actor at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. It is even more satisfying when you know that so many other films across genres and so many actors who have all done such a great job, were in competition. My character in Gali Guleiyan is a very complex one with many layers and the film itself was a difficult one to make,” Manoj Bajpayee said in a statement.

Sanju won the award for Best Film and Rajkumar Hirani won Best Director, while lead actor Rabir Kapoor bagged the IFFM Vanguard Award. His co-star Vicky Kaushal was honoured as the Best Supporting Actor.

Telugu film Mahanati, made simultaneously in Tamil as Nadigaiyar Thilagam, won the Equality In Cinema Award. A special diversity award was also given to Freida Pinto.

Richa Chadha won Best Supporting Actress for Love Sonia, which also won the Best Indie Film award. “Love Sonia is an important film, not only for me but also for the inspiring cast and crew that gave this film their all. To have this recognized by the IFFM means a lot,” director Tabrez Noorani said in a statement.