The romantic comedy 2 States, starring Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor is leading the 60th Filmfare Awards with seven nominations, followed by Kangana Ranaut's tragic Shakespearean drama Haider which has been named in six different categories.
The sleeper hits of 2014 have left behind big-budget blockbusters PK, Happy New Year and Kick.
2 States has been nominated in various categories, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female), Best Music and Best Playback Singer (Male).
On the other hand, Vishal Bhardwaj's Haider stands a chance to win in categories including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) and Best Lyrics.
Apart from Haider and 2 States, the Best Film category includes Queen, Mary Kom, and PK.
Abhishek Varman (2 States), Anurag Kashyap (Ugly), Rajkumar Hirani (PK), Vikas Bahl (Queen) and Vishal Bhardwaj (Haider) are in the race for the award for Best Director.
Despite striking gold at the box office with Kick and Happy New Year, Bollywood's leading Khans - Salman and Shah Rukh - have been neglected in the Best Actor in a Leading Role category. However, Aamir has been nominated for his satirical comic-drama PK alongside Akshay Kumar (Holiday), Hrithik Roshan (Bang Bang!), Randeep Hooda (Rang Rasiya) and Shahid Kapoor (Haider).
Actresses Alia Bhatt (Highway), Kangana Ranaut (Queen), Madhuri Dixit (Dedh Ishqiya), Priyanka Chopra (Mary Kom), Rani Mukerji (Mardaani) and Sonam Kapoor (Khoobsurat) are competing for the Best Actress trophy.
In Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) category, Abhishek Bachchan (Happy New Year), Kay Kay Menon (Haider), Riteish Deshmukh (Ek Villain), Ronit Roy (2 States) and Tahir Raj Bhasin (Mardaani) have been nominated.
Competing for the Best Supporting Actress accolades are: Amrita Singh (2 States), Dimple Kapadia (Finding Fanny), Juhi Chawla (Gulaab Gang), Lisa Haydon (Queen) and Tabu (Haider).
Although music maestro AR Rahman has not been included in the Best Music category, there is a tough fight between Amit Trivedi (Queen), Anupam Amod, Arko Pravo Mukherjee, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Mithoon and Pritam (Yaariyan), Himesh Reshammiya, Meet Bros Anjjan and Yo Yo Honey Singh (Kick), Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari and SOCH (Ek Villain) and Shankar-Eshaan-Loy (2 States).
For Best Lyrics, this year's nominees are, Amitabh Bhattacharya for Zehnaseeb (Hasee Toh Phasee), Gulzar for Bismil (Haider), Irshad Kamil for Patakha guddi (Highway), Kausar Munir for Suno na sangemarmar (Youngistaan) and Rashmi Singh for Muskurane ki wajah (CityLights).
Singer Ankit Tiwari for Galliyan (Ek Villain), Arijit Singh for Mast magan (2 States) and Suno na sangemarmar (Youngistaan), Benny Dayal for Locha-E-Ulfat (2 States) and Shekhar Ravjiani for Zehnaseeb (Hasee Toh Phasee) are in the race for Best Playback Singer (Male) category.
For the same award in the female category, the nominees are - Jyoti Nooran and Sultana Nooran for Patakha Guddi (Highway), Kanika Kapoor for Baby Doll (Ragini MMS 2), Rekha Bhardwaj for Humari atariya pe (Dedh Ishqiya), Shreya Ghoshal for Manwa lage (Happy New Year) and Sona Mahapatra for Naina (Khoobsurat).
The awards ceremony will take place in Mumbai on January 31.
