Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub
Credit: X/@Mdzeeshanayyub
New Delhi: Actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Maidaan, starring Ajay Devgn, were among the winners at the 2024 edition of the Septimius Awards in the Netherlands.
Zeeshan was named the best Asian actor for his work on the 2023 crime drama series Scoop and director Amit Ravindernath Sharma's sports drama Maidaan was adjudged the best Asian film at the ceremony, held between August 19-20 at Amsterdam's Tuschinski Theatre.
For his portrayal of Imran Siddiqui, the principled editor of a newspaper organisation in Scoop, Zeeshan had received a lot of praise from the audience.
Hansal Mehta, director of Scoop, congratulated the actor on his win at the Septimius Awards, billed as a "strong supporter of new talent and visionary ideas".
"You can't keep a good man down. Congratulations @Mdzeeshanayyub for this much delayed but very richly deserved award.
"This one's for all those juries that chose to ignore your stellar performance in #Scoop. Best Asian Actor #Scoop at the Septimius Awards, Amsterdam. @SeptimiusAwards," Mehta wrote on X as he shared a screenshot of the announcement.
"Thank you so much sir," Zeeshan replied to the director.
Maidaan, based on the golden years of Indian football, tackled the true story of Syed Abdul Rahim (played by Devgn), who served as a coach and manager of the Indian football team from 1950 until his death in 1963. The film released in theatres after multiple delays on Eid in April.
"Delighted and honored to know that our film #Maidaan was accorded the Best Asian Film at the prestigious Septimius Awards held in Amsterdam, acknowledging the film's artistic brilliance and its significance on the global cinematic stage. "Congratulations to our hardworking and dedicated cast and crew that accomplished to create the magnificence of Maidaan. @SeptimiusAwards #Amsterdam," film's producer Boney Kapoor wrote on X.
According to its official website, the Septimius Awards is a prestigious award ceremony, with a strong emphasis on discovering and encouraging new independent talent, supporting visionary films and bringing together all elements of film-making and storytelling, which includes fiction, non-fiction, animation, television series and scripts.