The nominations for the 2021 International Emmy Awards were announced on Thursday evening. Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, comedian Vir Das, and Ram Madhvani’s show Aarya bagged nominations.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been nominated in the Best Performance by an Actor category for his Netflix movie Serious Men. British star David Tennant (Des), Roy Nik of Israel (Normali) and Christian Tappan of Colombia (El Robo del Siglo or The Great Heist) are also in the race with Nawazuddin. Directed by Sudhir Mishra, Serious Men is based on Manu Joseph's 2010 novel by the same name.
Serious Men showcased the story of an ambitious underachiever who decided to capitalise on his son's fame as a boy-genius to improve his family’s fortunes. Critics widely appreciated the film for its sharp commentary on caste discrimination and class privilege through its protagonist Ayyan Mani (Nawazuddin).
Vir Das' Netflix comedy special Vir Das: For India has been nominated in the comedy segment. Popular French show Call My Agent, Britain’s Motherland: Christmas Special and Colombian series Promesas de Campana have also been nominated in the category.
The comedian celebrated the moment in a post on Instagram. "Umm...I think I just got nominated for the #internationalemmyawards uh... . but I'm just so happy it's for a show about my culture, my people and how funny we are. The special was my love letter to India and this is just unbelievable," he wrote.
In the Best Drama Series category, Disney+ Hotstar’s Aarya has been nominated alongside Chile's El Presidente, Israel's Tehran and British show There She Goes. An official remake of the popular Dutch crime-drama Penoza, Aarya marked Sushmita's return to acting after several years.
An excited Sushmita shared a picture of the nominations and wrote on Instagram, “OMGGGGGG!!!! AARYA is nominated for Best Drama Series at the #InternationalEmmyAwards2021 @iemmys Was busy dubbing for AARYA2…just got the news!!!! Yipppeeeeeee!!!! CONGRATULATIONS @madhvaniram @amitamadhvani @officialrmfilms @sandeipm @vinraw @disneyplushotstar @endemolshineind #teamaaryaa & THE MOST AMAZING CAST & CREW EVER!!!! To see INDIA on this list fills my heart!!!”
She added, “Thank you wonderful people….your love & appreciation for #Aarya is the very soul of this celebration!!! This Team truly deserves it!! Congratulations to @nawazuddin._siddiqui and @virdas for their respective nominations & for adding to India’s pride!! I love you guys!!! #duggadugga.”
International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will announce the winners for the 2021 International Emmy Awards on November 22 in New York.
Last year, India bagged the award for best drama series with Richie Mehta’s Delhi Crime. Previous nominees include Sacred Games and Inside Edge.