Dabangg, a tale about a corrupt police officer, was the big winner Saturday at the 12th International Indian Film Academy Awards in Toronto, marking the first time the Bollywood ceremony has been held in North America.
Dabangg won several awards, including best picture, three music awards and best screenplay. Sonakshi Sinha earned the female debut award for her role in the cop drama, while actor Sonu Sood picked up the award for best performance in a negative role.
My Name is Khan won four awards for best story, best lyrics, best director for Karan Johar and best actor for Shah Rukh Khan. He portrayed a Muslim suffering from Asperger's syndrome who is detained at a U.S. airport after his disability is mistaken for suspicious behavior.
Anushka Sharma took home the best actress prize for her performance in The Wedding Planners.
Sharma shared the prize for Bollywood pair of the year with Ravinder Singh.
Best supporting acting nods went to Prachi Desai for her role in Once Upon A Time in Mumbai and to Arjun Rampakl for his role in Raajneeti.
Launched in 2000 at the Millennium Dome in London, the annual IIFA awards have been held in 11 cities around the world, including Colombo, Macao, Bangkok, Dubai, Amsterdam and Johannesburg.
The event is designed to celebrate the popular Hindi-language film industry and win new audiences abroad.
Some 22,000 Bollywood fans filled Toronto's Rogers Center for the awards show, which reached an estimated worldwide television audience of 600 million people.
