Melbourne [Australia], August 16 (ANI): The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2025 became extra special this year as Aamir Khan, on Saturday morning, hoisted the Indian national flag at Fed Square to celebrate India's 79th Independence Day.

The event saw the Australian Indian community gathering in large numbers to celebrate the occasion.

Australia's High Commissioner to India, Philip Green OAM, took to his X account to share a video from the celebrations, describing how the 'spirit of India flies high' as communities came together in Melbourne.

His post read, 'From Mumbai to Melbourne, the spirit of India flies high! The Australian Indian community in Melbourne came together with pride to celebrate India's 79th #IndependenceDay. Wonderful to see Indian actor #AamirKhan join the community at Federation Square for the flag-raising.'

Check out the video

https://x.com/AusHCIndia/status/1956602760625025320

Khan was also honoured with the prestigious Excellence in Cinema Award, recognising his decades-long contribution to the craft and his unmatched influence on the industry.

The awards night took place on Friday, August 15, with winners across film and streaming categories being announced. Homebound won Best Film, while director Neeraj Ghaywan received Best Director for the same project. Abhishek Bachchan took home Best Actor (Male) for I Want to Talk. Nimisha Sajayan and Jaideep Ahlawat won Best Actor (Female) (Series) and Best Actor (Male) (Series) for their performances in Dabba Cartel and Paatal Lok Season 2, respectively. The Tamil film Angammal from director Vipin Radhakrishnan also won Best Indie Film. The Bengali film Baksho Bondi (Shadowbox) from directors Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi won the Equality in Cinema category. (ANI)