Following the industry voting for the upcoming IIFA Awards in Singapore at the IIFA Voting Weekend held in March, nominees across the popular award categories for the year 2012, were announced today.

The year 2011 has been spectacular for Hindi Cinema, with impressive movies making a mark not only with ground-breaking box-office collections but also with sincere critical acclaim. The year also witnessed many new faces which were welcomed by Indian audiences worldwide. The 13th edition of Indian Cinema’s most alluring accolades, the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards, is scheduled for the 7th – 9th June, 2012. Having ventured across 4 continents and 10 countries over the last 12 years, Wizcraft International Entertainment this year brings its followers a three-day enthralling IIFA 2012 extravaganza in the Lion City – Singapore.

Nominations for IIFA Awards 2012 have Zoya Akhtar’s multi-starrer, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara leading the tally with a whooping 14 nominations followed by Ekta Kapoor’s runaway success, The Dirty Picture with 13 nominations. Rockstar follows closely with 9 nominations to its credit; whereas Salman Khan’s chartbuster which broke all the box-office records – Bodyguard has received 7 nominations. Movies like Saheb Biwi aur Gangster, Stanley Ka Dabba and Pyaar ka Punchnama have also done well at the overall IIFA nomination chart.

For Performances In A Leading Role (Male), Amitabh Bachchan (Aarakshan), Salman Khan (Bodyguard), Shah Rukh Khan (Don 2), Ranbir Kapoor (Rockstar), Ajay Devgn (Singham) and Hrithik Roshan (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) will be seen battling it out for the coveted trophy. In the female category, Priyanka Chopra (7 Khoon Maaf), Kareena Kapoor (Bodyguard), Mahie Gill (Saheb Biwi aur Gangster), Kangna Ranaut (Tanu weds Manu) and Vidya Balan (The Dirty Picture) will come face to face.

Vishal Bhardwaj (7 Khoon Maaf), Sohail Sen (Mere Brother Ki Dulhan), Vishal – Shekhar (Ra.One), Shankar – Ehsaan – Loy (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) and A.R. Rahman (Rockstar) will be vying for the Best Music Direction trophy. Melody queen - Shreya Ghoshal has bagged two nominations for her songs Teri Meri and Ooh La La. Usha Uthup & Rekha Bhardwaj for Darling, Sunidhi Chauhan for Te Amo and Harshadeep Kaur for Katiya Karunhave have also been nominated in the Playback Singer Female Category. Nominated for Best Playback singer Male Category are Mika Singh for Subha Hone na De, Ash King for I Love You, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for Teri Meri, Mohit Chauhan for Nadaan Parinde and Kamal Khan for Ishq Sufiyana.

No movie can be complete without its Director and rightly so, the year 2011 has seen some of the best directorial talents. Raj Kumar Gupta (No One Killed Jessica), Rohit Shetty (Singham), Imtiaz Ali (Rockstar), Milan Luthria (The Dirty Picture) and Zoya Akhtar (Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) have been nominated for their outstanding work in the field of direction.

Wiz Sabbas Joseph, Director - Wizcraft International Entertainment said, “We at IIFA take pride in announcing the nominees for IIFA Awards 2012 which celebrate the best work done by the Indian Film Industry over the last year. We are thoroughly pleased with the nominees a result of the film industry’s secret ballot; and we hope the audience will make a worthy choice in deciding the winners of this year’s IIFA accolades.”

The Videocon IIFA Weekend, Singapore will be an outstanding celebration of Indian Cinema which will showcase the excellence of Indian Film Industry on the global dias. The spectacular weekend this year will include an extravagant line-up of mega events like the IIFA World Premiere, IIFA Rocks and the magnificent IIFA Awards.

The IIFA Weekend is presented by Videocon and the prestigious night of nights, the IIFA Awards will be broadcast globally on Star Plus, for the 7th year running.

IIFA AWARDS 2012 POPULAR AWARDS NOMINATIONS

BEST PICTURE
1.        Bodyguard Alvira Agnihotri, Atul Agnihotri & Reliance Entertainment
2.        No One Killed Jessica  Ronnie Screwvala
3.        Rockstar Dhillin Mehta
4.        The Dirty Picture Shobha Kapoor & Ekta Kapoor
5.        Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara Ritesh Sidhwani & Farhan Akhtar
    
BEST DIRECTOR
1.        Raj Kumar Gupta No One Killed Jessica
2.        Rohit Shetty Singham
3.        Imtiaz Ali Rockstar
4.        Milan Luthria The Dirty Picture
5.        Zoya Akhtar Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
    
PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING ROLE (MALE)
1.        Amitabh Bachchan Aarakshan
2.        Salman Khan Bodyguard
3.        Shah Rukh Khan Don 2
4.        Ranbir Kapoor Rockstar
5.        Ajay Devgn Singham
6.        Hrithik Roshan Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
    
PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING ROLE (FEMALE)
1.        Priyanka Chopra 7 Khoon Maaf
2.        Kareena Kapoor Bodyguard
3.        Mahie Gill Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster
4.        Kangna Ranaut Tanu Weds Manu
5.        Vidya Balan The Dirty Picture
    
PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (MALE)
1.        Abhay Deol Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
2.       Randeep Hooda Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster
3.        Naseeruddin Shah The Dirty Picture
4.        Emraan Hashmi The Dirty Picture
5.        Farhan Akhtar Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
    
PERFORMANCE IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (FEMALE)
1.        Divya Dutta Stanley Ka Dabba
2.        Parineeti Chopra Ladies V/S Ricky Bahl
3.        Sonali Kulkarni Singham
4.        Swara Bhaskar Tanu Weds Manu
5.        Kalki Koechlin Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
    
PERFORMANCE IN A COMIC ROLE
1.        Paresh Rawal Ready
2.        Riteish Deshmukh Double Dhamaal
3.        Divyendu Sharma Pyaar Ka Punchnama
4.        Pitobash Shor In The City
5.        Deepak Dobriyal Tanu Weds Manu
    
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A NEGATIVE ROLE
1.        Irrfan Khan 7 Khoon Maaf
2.        Boman Irani Don 2
3.        Vidyut Jammwal Force
4.        Prakash Raj Singham
5.        Naseeruddin Shah The Dirty Picture
    
MUSIC DIRECTION
1.        Vishal Bhardwaj 7 Khoon Maaf
2.        Sohail Sen Mere Brother Ki Dulhan
3.        Vishal – Shekhar Ra.One
4.        Shankar – Ehsaan – Loy Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
5.        A.R.Rahman  Rockstar
  
BEST STORY
1.        Imtiaz Ali Rockstar
2.        Amole Gupte Stanley Ka Dabba
3.        Himanshu Gupta Tanu Weds Manu
4.        Rajat Aroraa The Dirty Picture
5.        Reema Kagti & Zoya Akhtar Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
    
BEST LYRICS
1.        Shabbir Ahmed Teri Meri  ( Bodyguard)
2.        Gulzar  Darling (7 Khoon Maaf)
3.        Irshad Kamil Naadaan Parindey(Rockstar)
4.        Javed Akhtar Khaabon Ke Parinday
            (Zindagi  Na Milegi Dobara)
5.        Rajat Aroraa Ishq Sufiyana (The Dirty Picture)
    
PLAYBACK SINGER – MALE
1.        Ash King I Love You (Bodyguard)
2.        Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Teri Meri (Bodyguard)
3.        Mika Singh Subha Hone Na De (Desi Boyz)
4.        Mohit Chauhan Naadaan Parindey (Rockstar)
5.        Kamal Khan Ishq Sufiyana (The Dirty Picture)
    
BEST SINGER – FEMALE
1.        Usha Uthup & Rekha Bhardwaj Darling (7 Khoon Maaf)
2.        Shreya Ghoshal Teri Meri (Bodyguard)
3.        Sunidhi Chauhan Te Amo (Dum Maaro Dum)
4.        Harshdeep Kaur Katiya Karun (Rockstar)
5.        Shreya Ghoshal Ooh La La (The Dirty Picture)