Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara & The Dirty Picture lead IIFA 2012 nominations

3rd May, 2012: 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.” Mr. Nitin Vaidya, Business Head, Hindi Channels, STAR India said, "For years, STAR Plus and IIFA have showcased Indian cinema across the global stage. It is with great pride that we announce the Awards to Singapore. There's a genuine appreciation and huge following for Indian cinema in Singapore and this is complemented by the large Indian-origin population in the city state. We look forward to another magnificent event this year with IIFA 2012." The results of the IIFA Voting Weekend were audited by PriceWaterhouse Coopers, the auditing firm for the IIFA's and the Oscars. The online voting for the Awards will go live on the Wednesday, 3rd May 2012 and will be open to audiences of Indian Cinema from across the world. 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.