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Busan International Film Festival 2021: Nushrratt Bharuccha, Ali Fazal Bag Nominations at Asian Contents Awards

Actors Nushrratt Bharuccha and Ali Fazal have bagged nominations at the Asian Content Awards by Busan International Film Festival 2021.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

ACA is a commitment of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) to encourage more original productions and better creatives by recognising outstanding content and talented professionals in the Asian region. It grants awards to outstanding TV, OTT, and online content from Asia. Founded in 2019, this year marks the third edition of the event.

Bharuccha bagged the Best Actress nomination for her role in Netflix‘s anthology Ajeeb Daastaans. The actor starred in the short film titled Khilauna, directed by Raj Mehta, which was a part of the anthology. Bharuccha will compete with Tsuchiya Tao for Alice in Borderland, Song Jia for A Little Dilemma, Bae Doo-na for Stranger 2, and Lee Si-young for Sweet Home for the award.

The actor said in a press release, “Ajeeb Daastaans is one of those films I did purely for myself, purely for the passion I have for films, stories, and cinema. Being recognised on a global stage for it is just so overwhelming. I am ecstatic to be nominated by Busan International Film Festival 2021 for its 3rd Asia Contents Awards. So honoured to see my name alongside other talented actors from different countries. This nomination gives me more impetus to follow my calling with renewed fervour to do what I love every day!”

Fazal, on the other hand, bagged a nomination in the Best Actor category for his portrayal of Ipsit Nair in Forget Me Not, one of the four films in the Ray anthology on Netflix. Directed by Srijith Mukherji, the story is a modern interpretation of Satyajit Ray’s story Bipin Chaudhary Ka Smriti Bhram. Zafar plays the role of a cut-throat corporate shark that never forgets anything and has the memory of a computer.

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On the nomination, Fazal said in a press release, “Wow! This was totally unexpected. I am so humbled to receive this nomination and it means a lot to be recognized by ACA. A lot of great content was produced this year in Asia and to land a nomination amongst such an impressive lineup of films and actors is an honour.”

He is nominated alongside Terrance Lau for Leap Day, Bai Yu for The Long Night, Lee Je-hoon for Move to Heaven, Sakai Masato for Hanzawa Naoki, and Song Joong Ki for Vincenzo.

The ACA will be a hybrid online and on-site event held on October 7. Local attendees, including the hosts, will participate on-site from Busan, while overseas nominees across Asia will attend online. The show will be hosted by the TV personality and entrepreneur Mark Tetto and Kim Sae-Yeon, a participant of Miss Korea 2019, who has been a host of ACA since its first edition.