IIFA Utsavam 2024 in Abu Dhabi: Ponniyin Selvan 2 wins big

The event, honouring the best in South Indian cinema, strongly voiced its philosophy of unity in diversity

Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with director Mani Ratnam on the IIFA Utsavam stage in Abu Dhabi. All photos: IIFA

The Ponniyin Selvan team, from left: actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, director Mani Ratnam, actor Vikram and music director A R Rahman

Actor and director Prabhu Deva on the IIFA Utsavam 2024 stage

Telugu superstar Venkatesh, left, and singer DSP perform on stage at IIFA Utsavam 2024 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi

Malayalam star Jayaram, right, Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman, and Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi, left, take a selfie during the IIFA Utsavam 2024 ceremony at Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi

Javed Akthar, fourth from left, Shabana Azmi and Venkatesh Daggubati

Actor Nassar on stage

Tamil hosts Sathish Muthukrishnan, left, and Diya Menon

Actress Aradhanaa Ram performs

Telugu host Teja Sajja at the event

If there were a thematic thread running through this year’s International Indian Film Academy Awards, it would be "one India, one industry, one voice," as actor Rana Daggubati, one of the six co-hosts of IIFA Utsavam, succinctly expressed on Friday night. The event celebrated the best and brightest talents from South India, across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada cinemas.

Although admittedly overlong and disjointed, the event’s spirit was mutual empowerment, with many top awards for films of every language honoured, not only by popular presenters from within their associated industry, but beyond it – including Bollywood’s Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Vivek Oberoi and producer-director Karan Johar, to name a few.

Part of a three-day weekend, the third IIFA Utsavam is also its global first, with its previous instalments being held in Hyderabad, India. Packed with an all-star line-up, Utsavam had the likes of actors like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, veteran actor Shabana Azmi, her husband, lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar, actor-director and dance sensation Prabhu Deva and IIFA Rocks co-hosts Siddhant Chaturvedi and Abhishek Banerjee in attendance.

Veteran actor Nassar exclaimed on the green carpet that he couldn’t be more proud to see South Indian cinema being given a global platform in Abu Dhabi, adding, “We’re at an age where we don’t need to distinguish between film industries any more. There’s no Bollywood or Tollywood; it’s all Indian cinema.”

Following that philosophy was pan-Indian director Priyadarshan – known best for his Malayalam language psychological horror-thriller Manichitrathazhu, and Hindi-language comedies like Hera Pheri and Hungama – being honoured with the Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema title.

Keeping his tone tongue-in-cheek in his acceptance speech, he jokingly suggested, “I should probably call myself the brand ambassador of IIFA, keeping in mind its philosophy of bringing its Indian cinema together.” It sounds like a tall order, but for the director, it really isn’t. In his four-decade-long career, he’s made more than 95 films in Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

While he did acknowledge his filmography – unbound by language – he made sure to give his roots a shoutout: “Malayalis, you are my backbone and you’ve brought me to where I am now. I couldn’t be more thankful,” he said.

Other esteemed honorees included Telugu cinema’s two biggest names: megastar Chiranjeevi, who led the critically well-received and commercially successful action film Waltair Veeraiya last year, and veteran actor and politician Nandamuri Balakrishna, whose previous film Bhagavanth Kesari was also nominated four times at this year’s Utsavam.

Music composer Devi Sri Prasad, or DSP as he's popularly known, also put up an impactful and highly entertaining show as part of the event’s entertainment line-up. He expressed his deep gratitude and honour for Chiranjeevi, who was recently named by Guinness World Record as "the Most Prolific Indian Star". Azmi, who jointly presented the award to the star, stated: “I wish I was seated so I could give you an actual standing ovation myself.”

Johar, who presented the award to Balakrishna, found himself whipping up an impromptu mock talk-show parodying his Koffee With Karan series. But the sincerest part of the presentation was the actor’s acceptance speech, in which he credited his “producers, directors, and everyone in every technical team,” exclaiming: “You’ve all been majorly behind who and where I am today.”

Other highlights included a dance performance by prominent actress Raashii Khanna, whose filmography includes movies across the Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi languages – as her last big-ticket appearance was opposite Siddharth Malhotra in the Johar-produced Hindi-language action thriller Yodha earlier this year – and an extended flashy dance routine by Prabhu Deva.

Possibly the biggest highlight of this year’s Utsavam awards was Mani Ratnam’s two-part Tamil-language historical epic Ponniyin Selvan, the second instalment of which bagged as many as 13 nominations. It won in notable categories, including Best Leading Actress for Rai Bachchan, Best Leading Actor for Vikram, while Oscar winner Rahman won in dual categories of Best Music Director and Background Score Composer. Actor Jayaram won Best Male Supporting Actor.

Both Rai Bachchan and Vikram dedicated their respective awards to Ratnam, with the former exclaiming: “It’s all you, and it’s always been all you, right from [Rai’s acting debut film] Iruvar.” Sharing their mutual sentiment was Rahman, who said the director “brings out the best in all of us”.

Notable key wins also included Mrunal Thakur, seen recently in a blink-and-you’ll-miss role in the mega-budget sci-fi action film Kalki 2898AD, bagging the Best Telugu Actress award for Hi Nanna, Telugu star Nani getting the Best Telugu Actor Award for Dasara, and actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu being honoured with the Woman of the Year Award.