Hindi film Dabangg swept up a whopping 7 awards including Best Music Director and Best Film Album amongst others. South Indian Carnatic musician Sanjay Subrahmanyan‘s "Chandiran Oliyil" won in the Best Carnatic Vocal Album category.
Special awards went to three legends in the Indian music industry. Award-winning music director A. R. Rahman received "The Global Musician Honour" for his contribution to music at a national and international level. Renowned Indian composer Pyarelal (of the Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo) received an award for Outstanding Contribution to Indian Music – Film, and Carnatic (South Indian Classical) veteran Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna said "Indian music is global music; artists like us have proved it", as he was honoured for Outstanding Contribution to Indian Music – Classical.
The awards were hosted by Bollywood stars Ranveer Singh and Neha Dhupia, and the ceremony featured performances by Priyanka Chopra, Shah Rukh Khan, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Midival Punditz and others.