'Dabangg' leads GIMA nominations

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) Salman Khan's 'Dabangg' bagged the maximum nominations for the second edition of Chevrolet Global Indian Music Academy (GIMA) awards by getting a place in 12 categories. It is followed by eight nominations each for 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai' and 'Band Baaja Baaraat'.

'Dabangg', the highest Bollywood grosser of 2010, stands a chance to win an award for its music album, music director (Sajid-Wajid and Lalit Pandit), film song ('Munni badnaam'), music debut (Mamta Sharma), male playback singer (Rahat Fateh Ali Khanmale), music arranger and programmer (Sandeep Shirodkar), background score (Sandeep Shirodkar), engineer - film album (Eric Pillai) and engineer - theatre mix (Leslie Fernandes).

The Chevrolet GIMA awards, which was launched in Mumbai in 2010, received a total of over 1,500 entries, including those from 40 film albums and 160 non-film albums, said a press statement.

The preparations of the awards ceremony, to be held towards September end, are underway at live entertainment destination Kingdom of Dreams in Gurgaon. GIMA is an effort by event management company Wizcraft International Entertainment to recognise Indian music transcending genres in the country, while giving the music industry a unified platform to celebrate its talent.

'In its second year, GIMA is proud to have garnered the incredible goodwill and support of the music fraternity taking the awards from strength to strength. Wizcraft is committed to the music Industry at large and see the Chevrolet GIMA Awards as a bridge connecting people throughout the nation,' Sabbas Joseph, director, Wizcraft International, said in a press statement.

This year, even the nightingale of India, Asha Bhosle has been nominated for the best semi-classical album category for her album 'Naina Lagaike' which she released in collaboration with Ustaad Shujaat Khan.

A new category addition to the awards ceremony is the best pop-rock single. Nominations for the award include 'Indian Idol 5' winner Sreeram Chandra, Raghav Sachar, Advaita and the band Agnee.

GIMA nominees were adjudged by a jury of 33 members from the Indian music fraternity. The final winners will be voted upon by the GIMA Academy comprising 250 members, including lyricists, singers, technicians, instrumentalists, music directors, music producers and film directors. The Academy Voting will be held later in August to choose the final winners.