No win for India at International Emmy Awards gala

There was substantial hype a while back when Indian OTT fare such as "Lust Stories" and "Sacred Games" garnered several nominations at the 2019 International Emmy Awards, but none of it has managed to translate into awards.

The only India connect at the gala this year is that "McMafia", a show that features Nawazuddin Siddiqui, has won Best Drama Series award.

Categories that had Indian presence as nominees included Best TV Movie/Mini-Series, Best Drama, Best Documentary, Best Non-Scripted Entertainment and Best Actress in a Drama Series.

"Sacred Games", starring Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, bagged nomination in the Best Drama category, and the Netflix anthology "Lust Stories" was nominated under the Best Miniseries category.

Actress Radhika Apte was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress for her role in "Lust Stories", and Sunidhi Chauhan's "The Remix" was competing in the non-scripted entertainment category with nominees from Argentina, Belgium and the UK.

Radhika lost out to Hungarian actress Marina Gera for her performance in "Orok Tel".

"McMafia" trumped "Sacred Games", while Karan Johar and Zoya Akhtar's anthology "Lust Stories" lost out to Australia's "Safe Harbour".

Nawazuddin, who features as Mumbai-based gangster Dilly Mahmood in "McMafia", was delighted with the win.

"It's a pure delight to be receiving the beautiful winner trophy at the International Emmy Awards Gala in New York with one of my favourite Director James Watkins for our work 'McMafia'," he posted on Instagram.

Reality show "The Real Full Monty: Lad''s' Night" emerged victorious in the Best Non-Scripted Entertainment category. In the documentary segment, "Witness: India's Forbidden Love" lost out to "Bellingcat - Truth In A Post-Truth World".

The International Emmy Awards recognises excellence in television programming produced outside the US. They are presented annually by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences since 1973.

The 11 winning International Emmy programs and performances span 8 countries: Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Hungary, The Netherlands, Turkey, the UK and the US.

There might have been no win for India, but Indian stars added glamour to the 47th edition of the award, which was held on November 25 in New York.

Radhika, Nawazuddin, Anurag Kashyap, Kubbra Sait, Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Ronnie Screwvala, Dibakar Banerjee and Vikramaditya Motwane were spotted making most of the moment, and enjoying their time at the gala.

"We may have lost at the Emmys but it was a night to cherish. Thank you Netflix India for making it happen and for pushing the show to an audience we never thought possible. And thank you to the cast and crew, as always," Motwane tweeted.

( With inputs from IANS )