Komal Nahta received NIFFA’s ‘Visharm Samman’ for her contribution to the Indian film trade and industry.

Tezzbuzz Desk – Senior Indian film trade analyst and commentator Komal Nahata was honored with the ‘Vimaarsh Samman’ at the National Indian Film Festival of Australia (NIFFA) 2026 for his significant contribution to the Indian film trade and industry. This honor was given during the grand closing ceremony of the festival held in Queensland.

Komal Nahata has been one of the most credible voices in the Indian film business for the past several decades. He has brought the box office trends, changing film market and ups and downs of the industry to the audience not only in India but across the world. ‘Vimarsh Samman’ honors his long and important contribution.

Expressing her happiness on this honour, Komal Nahata said, “It is a great honor for me to receive the ‘Vimarsh Samman’ for my contribution to the Indian film trade and industry. From an industry point of view, NIFFA is becoming a very interesting platform. It shows the growing strength of Indian cinema in Australia. Now Indian cinema is not just emerging as a cultural identity there, but is also emerging as a large audience and a strong market. The expansion of this festival and the way it is expanding in different cities, regions. And connecting the communities is extremely admirable. I am excited to understand the Australian film industry closer and share my views on the Indian film industry.”

The honor was presented during NIFFA’s Queensland closing ceremony held in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, supported by Screen Queensland. On this occasion, filmmakers Anubhav Sinha and Leena Yadav were also honored with NIFFA’s ‘Nishtha Award’.

Anupam Sharma, Founder and Festival Director, NIFFA, said, “Komal Nahta has been an expert in understanding and communicating the business of Indian cinema in the most relatable way for many years. ‘Vimarsh Samman’ also symbolizes that NIFFA is not just a cultural festival but also a bigger story of the growing market and audience of Indian cinema. And there can be no better person than Komal Nahta to understand and tell this story.”

Today, people of Indian origin in Australia are the second largest and fastest growing community in the country. At the same time, Indian films are garnering record audiences in mainstream theaters in Australia. In such a situation, NIFFA is emerging as an important platform for the international commercial reach of Indian cinema.

NIFFA 2026 brought Indian cinema to more than 13 cities, regional and remote areas of Australia. The festival included more than 200 screenings, films from 15 Indian languages ​​and collaboration with several government institutions, screen agencies and tourism organizations. With this NIFFA became the largest national festival of Indian cinema held outside India.

About NIFFA

The National Indian Film Festival of Australia (NIFFA) is the first and only national annual film festival of Indian cinema in Australia. It is founded and run by award-winning Indian-Australian filmmaker Anupam Sharma. The festival promotes independent, regional and diaspora Indian cinema, going beyond Bollywood, across 13 cities, over 32 films, 15 Indian languages ​​and over 200 screenings. It also works to strengthen cooperation in the film industry between India and Australia.