He was up against some huge names for the big award - Shah Rukh Khan for 'Fan,' Sushant Singh Rajput for 'M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story,' Amitabh Bachchan for 'Pink,' Ranbir Kapoor for 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil,' and Salman Khan for 'Sultan.'
Alia Bhatt, who had two nods this time, won the Best Actress award for ' Udta Punjab,' outperforming Sonam Kapoor in 'Neerja,' Anushka Sharma in ' Ae Dil Hai Mushkil,' and Taapsee Pannu in 'Pink.'
Hosted by Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan and producer-director Karan Johar, the ceremony, which celebrates the achievements of Bollywood in different cities across the world, is a three-day extravaganza that started from July 13 and is being held at the iconic MetLife Stadium in New York.
The 18th edition of the Awards event kicked off with a fashion show and music in Times Square. On Friday, a concert was held honouring A.R. Rahman, the music composer who won two Oscars in 2009 for "Slumdog Millionaire." and a green carpet parade of stars in their finery was canceled at the last minute owing to the poor weather.
Besides Bollywood celebrities, several Hollywood stars, including Angelina Jolie, action star Jackie Chan, Australian pop-star Kylie Minogue, British actor Colin Firth, Hollywood stars Hillary Swank, Kevin Spacey and John Travolta, have also been a part of IIFA in the past.