Indian Film Festival Of Melbourne 2025 Full Winners List: Neeraj Ghaywan's Homebound Bags Top Honours

The 16th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) started on August 15 with the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony. The festival opened with the premiere of the critically acclaimed film Baksho Bondi, in the presence of its cast and crew, including Tillotama Shome and Jim Sarbh. On August 16, the winners were announced, with Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound taking home the top honours: Best Film and Best Director.

Superstar Aamir Khan, who was the chief guest of this year's edition, was honoured with the prestigious Excellence in Cinema Award for his contribution to the craft and his unmatched influence on the industry. Abhishek Bachchan bagged the Best Actor (Male) Award for his performance in I Want to Talk, with a Special Mention award to Gugun Kigpen for the Manipuri film Boong. Nimisha Sajayan received the Best Actress award for Dabba Cartel.

Here's the full list of winners of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2025

• Best Film: Homebound

• Best Director: Neeraj Ghaywan (Homebound)

• Best Indie Film: Angammal

• Best Actor (Male) – Film: Abhishek Bachchan (I Want to Talk)

• Special Mention – Best Actor (Male) – Film: Gugun Kigpen (Boong)

• Best Actor (Female) – Film: Geetha Kailasam (Angammal)

• Best Series: Black Warrant

• Best Actor (Male) – Series: Jaideep Ahlawat (Paatal Lok Season 2)

• Best Actor (Female) – Series: Nimisha Sajayan (Dabba Cartel)

• Excellence in Cinema: Aamir Khan

• Leadership in Cinema: Arvind Swamy

• Disruptor Award: Vir Das

• Diversity in Cinema: Aditi Rao Hydari

• Equality in Cinema: Baksho Bondi

• Best Short Film (India) - Kalar Pencils by Dhananjay Santosh Goregaonkar

• Best Short Film (Australia) - Drifters by David Liu

Abhishek Bachchan, on winning the award said, "Life has come a full circle for me. I came here in 2022, where I was feted with the Excellence in cinema award for my body of work. But this is an emotional moment for me to get the best actor on this very stage and be recognised for my role in a film that’s extremely special to me. It was 3 years back in Melbourne at this same festival where Shoojit (Sircar) Da offered me this role in I Want To Talk. It was Shoojit Da who believed in me that I could pull off this role and this role is an ode to my father and my daughter because it’s about caring and raising a parent."

Aamir said, "I have been attracted to telling stories from a very young age. Filmmaking is a collaborative art and this award and recognition wouldn’t have been possible without my writers, directors, co-stars, and the audiences who have given me the opportunity to tell the stories and be part of the many stories I have been part of."

IFFM 2025 will run till August 24, where Homebound will be the closing film.