IIFA 2022: Vicky Kaushal dedicates Best Actor award to Irrfan Khan

At this year’s IIFA awards Vicky Kaushal took home the award for Best Actor, for his acclaimed performance in Sardar Udham. In his acceptance speech, the actor dedicated the coveted award to the late Irrfan Khan.

For the uninitiated, Khan had been the original choice to play the titular character in the Shoojit Sircar directorial. In his acceptance speech, Kaushal said “ This is my first Best Actor Award and I want to dedicate this award to an actor whom I’ve admired, whom I’ve respected all my life. We’ve lost him too soon. The original choice to play Sardar Udham, Irrfan Khan saab.”

Director Sircar had earlier collaborated with Khan on Piku, and had offered the latter the role in Sardar Udham. Khan, who passed away in 2020, had declined the offer due to his health issues and had reportedly suggested Kaushal for the role.

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Sardar Udham, based on the life of the titular Indian revolutionary, was released on Amazon Prime Video and garnered praise from fans and critics alike for its story, direction and Kaushal’s performance.

At IIFA 2022, Kriti Sanon won the best actress award for her performance in Mimi, which was also a direct to OTT release like Sardar Udham. Mimi can be streamed on Netflix. While Shershaah won for Best Film, Vishnuvaradhan won the best director award for helming the Sidharth Malhotra-led film. Ahan Shetty and Sharvari Wagh won acting awards for their debuts in the films Tadap and Bunty Aur Babli 2 respectively. In the best supporting actors category, Sai Tamhankar and Pankaj Tripathi won for Mimi and Ludo respectively.

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