MUMBAI: The makers of "Dangal" did not send in an entry for the 18th IIFA Weekend and Awards, the event's organisers said on Tuesday after receiving flak for ignoring appreciated films like "Dangal" and "Airlift" in its nomination pack.
The gala was held in New York last week. "Neerja" was given the Best Film, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury walked away with the Best Direction award for "Pink", while Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were lauded as Best Actors for "Udta Punjab".
After questions were raised on the credibility of the awards event and censor board chief Pahlaj Nihalani called it an "international farce", the IIFA organisers issued a statement.
"So basically, in IIFA, forms are sent to various production houses. They fill those forms up and send it back to us. Those forms are then put out to the industry for voting and from there it becomes a nomination.
"So, 'Dangal' has not sent their entry in. We would love 'Dangal' to be a part of it. I think it's a movie that's broken all records. We love Aamir Khan and the two little girls. They did a great job. But unfortunately, they didn't send their entry in. We feel sad, said Andre Timmins, Director - Wizcraft International.
"Dangal" performed excellently at the box office, and created new records for Indian cinema in China. Aamir, who features in the lead, is known to avoid Bollywood award functions.