IIFA Rocks 2023: 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' wins three awards, 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2' bags two

Abu Dhabi: The IIFA Awards and Weekend 2023 kickstarted here with a ceremony that saw Alia Bhatt-starrer "Gangubai Kathiawadi" winning in three technical categories.

Actor Rajkummar Rao and filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan hosted the IIFA Rocks ceremony during which winners for technical categories, including cinematography, screenplay, dialogue and editing, were announced.

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Utkarshini Vashishtha won the award for best screenplay for his acclaimed period drama "Gangubai Kathiawadi". It also won trophies for best cinematography and dialogue.

Bosco Martis and Caesar Gonsalves won the best choreography award for their work on the title track of Kartik Aaryan-starrer "Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2". The Anees Bazmee directorial registered a second win in the best sound design.

Ajay Devgn’s crime thriller "Drishyam 2" took home the trophy for best editing, whereas Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt’s action adventure "Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva" was adjudged the winner of best special effects (visual).

Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan-starrer "Vikram Vedha" and Vasan Bala's "Monica O My Darling" bagged the honours for best background score and best sound mixing, respectively.

Held at Yas Island, the event witnessed performances by the likes of Amit Trivedi, Badshah, Jacqueline Fernandez, Rakul Preet Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sukhbir Singh, Palak Muchhal and Iulia Vantur. Superstar Salman Khan and actor-model Nora Fatehi turned showstoppers for designer Manish Malhotra, who showcased a special collection on the theme of ‘old world charm meets the new world’.

The ceremony was attended by a host of personalities from the Hindi film industry, including Abhishek Bachchan, Vicky Kaushal, Boman Irani, Sunny Kaushal and Radhika Madan.

The awards are being held in collaboration with the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), and Miral, Abu Dhabi's leading curator of immersive destinations and experiences.

Abhishek Bachchan and Vicky Kaushal will host the main IIFA Awards ceremony, to be held on Saturday night.