The IIFA Awards and Weekend 2023 kicked off here, with Alia Bhatt’s ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ winning three technical categories.

The IIFA Rocks ceremony, hosted by actor Rajkummar Rao and filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan, announced winners in technical categories such as cinematography, screenplay, dialogue, and editing.

For his acclaimed period drama ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi,’ filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Utkarshini Vashishtha won the award for best screenplay. It also received awards for best cinematography and dialogue.

Bosco Martis and Caesar Gonsalves received the award for best choreography for their work on the title track of Kartik Aaryan’s ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’.

The Anees Bazmee-directed film took home a second award for best sound design. Ajay Devgn’s crime thriller ‘Drishyam 2’ won best editing, while Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt’s action-adventure ‘Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva’ was named best special effects (visual), PTI reported from AbuDhabi

‘Vikram Vedha,’ starring Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan, and Vasan Bala’s ‘Monica O My Darling,’ won the best background score and best sound mixing, respectively.

Amit Trivedi, Badshah, Jacqueline Fernandez, Rakul Preet Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sukhbir Singh, Palak Muchhal, and Iulia Vantur performed at the event, which was held on Yas Island.

Salman Khan and actor-model Nora Fatehi stole the show for designer Manish Malhotra, who presented a special collection themed “old world charm meets the new world.”

Several Bollywood celebrities, including Abhishek Bachchan, Vicky Kaushal, Boman Irani, Sunny Kaushal, and Radhika Madan, attended the ceremony.

The awards are being held in collaboration with the DCT Abu Dhabi and Miral, Abu Dhabi’s leading curator of immersive destinations and experiences. The main IIFA Awards ceremony, which will take place on Saturday night, will be hosted by Abhishek Bachchan and Vicky Kaushal.