Bajirao Mastani leads IIFA 2016 Nominations

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus 'Bajirao Mastani' is leading the nominations list of the 17th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards with eight nods, including best director and best picture. The historical drama's lead stars Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh have been nominated in the best actress and actor category respectively, IIFA announced.

Deepika's second nomination in the same category is for 'Piku'.

Priyanka Chopra, who played Kashibai in 'Bajirao Mastani', has bagged a nod in the supporting actress list alongside her co-star from the film, Tanvi Azmi. The 33-year-old 'Quantico' actress has also been nominated in the best actress category for 'Dil Dhadakne Do'.

The film's other nominations were in the best playback singer female category for Shreya Ghoshal ('Deewani Mastani') and best music direction for Bhansali.

Bajirao Mastani' is closely followed by superstar Salman Khan's blockbuster 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', which has earned seven nominations. Salman earned a nod in the best actor category for his role of a simpleton, who embarks on a journey to take a mute six-year-old to her home in Pakistan. The film has also received nods in best picture, best director for Kabir Khan, best story for V Vijayendra Prasad and best music direction for Pritam.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui has landed two nominations for the film - best supporting actor and best performance in a comic role. The actor's third nod came in performance in a negative role category for his much-acclaimed villainous turn in 'Badlapur'.

The Shoojit Sircar-directed 'Piku' has landed six nominations including the coveted best picture, best director best actor for Amitabh Bachchan, best supporting actor for Irrfan Khan and best story for Juhi Chaturvedi. Another big nominee at the IIFA this year is Zoya.

Akhtar's family drama 'Dil Dhadakne Do', which bagged nods in best supporting actress for Anushka Sharma, best supporting actor for Anil Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar and best female playback singer for Sunidhi Chauhan ('Girls Like to Swing').

Other best picture nominees include 'Talvar' and 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' for which Kangana Ranaut has bagged a nod in the best actress category alongside Deepika, Priyanka, and Shraddha Kapoor ('ABCD 2').

Varun Dhawan and Ranbir Kapoor have also found place in the best actor nominations list for their roles in 'Badlapur' and 'Tamasha' respectively.

Besides Kabir, Bhansali and Sircar, the best director list also features Meghna Gulzar ('Talvar') and Aanand L Rai ('Tanu Weds Manu Returns').

Arijit Singh has been nominated twice in the best male playback singer list for his musical contribution in 'Hamari Adhuri Kahani' and 'Roy'.

'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' has bagged three nods in the musical categories including best lyrics for Varun Grover ('Moh Moh Ke Dhaage'). Papon and Monali Thakur have received nominations in the playback singer male and female category for the same song.

Huma Qureshi ('Badlapur') and Konkana Sen Sharma ('Talvar') are other names in the best supporting actress category, while Deepak Dobriyal has been nominated in the best supporting actor category for 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns'.

Stand-up comedian Kapil Sharma has been nominated in the best performance in a comic role list for his debut film 'Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon'.

The IIFA Awards this year will be hosted by Farhan and Shahid Kapoor on June 23 at IFEMA in Madrid.