Bollywood glossed over its recent setbacks with a high-octane International Indian Film Academy Awards event on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, where the crime thriller “Drishyam 2” won best picture.
At the conclusion of a four-hour celebration featuring energetic dance performances showcasing the Hindi film industry, director Abhishek Pathak’s gritty remake of a Malayalam film won the top prize.
Ranganathan Madhavan won the award for “Rocketry: The Nambi Effect” as best director. Alia Bhatt won best actress for “Gangubai Kathiawadi,” and Hrithik Roshan won best actor for his performance in “Vikram Vedha.”
“Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva” picked up a number of prizes including best supporting actress for Mouni Roy and best female playback singer for star vocalist Shreya Ghoshal.
The IIFA awards, which aimed to appeal to a global audience, were presented for the second consecutive year in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, a country with a population of 10 million, more than a third of whom are Indian.
In 2019, the Hindi film business had a $2.5 billion market value. India produces roughly 1,600 films in altogether, hundreds of which are also released in its other 21 official languages.
However, since the outbreak, Mumbai-based Bollywood, the world’s most prolific film industry, has been in crisis, with ticket sales continuing low once theaters reopened.
The rise in streaming services, competition from other parts of India and demand for meatier fare than Bollywood’s trademark song-and-dance routines have all contributed to the slump, experts say.
However, superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s “Pathaan” smashed Indian box office records in January, in a positive sign for the industry.
