MUMBAI: Music maestro AR Rahman leads the list of nominations in the film music category for the third edition of the Global Indian Music Academy (GIMA) Awards with a total of seven nods for his exceptional work in the film 'Rockstar'.

Rahman has bagged the nominations for Best Music Arranger & Programmer (Sadda Haq), Best Background Score, two nods for Best Playback Singer Male along with Javed Ali and Mohit Chauhan (Kun Faaya Kun and Nadaan Parindey), Best Music Director, Best Film Song (Nadaan Parindey) and Best Film Album.

Following up with six nominations is the musical trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy who have bagged two nods for Best Music Arranger & Programmer and Best Background Score for 'Don 2' and 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' (Senorita), two nods for Best Background Score for 'Don 2' and 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara', Best Music Director and Best Film Album for 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara'.

The Best Music Debut category this year has been dominated by Ayushmann Khurana who has bagged two nods as singer, music composer and lyricist for 'Vicky Donor' (Pani da Rang). Other nominees include Harshit Saxena as music composer for 'Murder 2' (Hale Dil), Kamal Khan as singer for 'The Dirty Picture' (Ishq Sufiyana) and Sunil Bhatia as music composer for 'Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster' (Chu Chu Acoustic).

The other major nominees include Shreya Ghoshal, Javed Akhtar, Ram Sampath, Vishal-Shekhar and Sunidhi Chauhan.

GIMA advisory board member and lyricist Prasoon Joshi said, "I am glad to be associated with the much-awaited GIMA Awards and the celebrations this year. GIMA is a pioneering effort to integrate and consolidate the Indian music industry onto one common platform and we are all looking forward to yet another landmark celebration. It is a very important moment for the fraternity and with the impressive talent in the country, it's important to honour these gifted individuals and I absolutely commend GIMA for being exactly the right avenue to do that."

The nominees were selected by a jury panel of over 30 eminent members from the music & film industry and later presented to the GIMA Academy for the final voting. The Academy's votes are tabulated by KPMG, the process auditors for GIMA who determine the winners. The jury panel this year includes Jatin Pandit, Javed Akhtar, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Kunal Kohli, Nagesh Kukunoor, Prasoon Joshi, Rajiv Kenkre, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Rajesh Roshan, Ramesh Sippy, Resul Pookutty, Shamir Tandon and Udit Narayan.

An initiative by Wizcraft International Entertainment, GIMA is a pioneering effort to recognize Indian music, transcending genres in the country giving the music industry a unified platform to celebrate its talent.

Wizcraft International Entertainment director Sabbas Joseph said, "From its inception GIMA has always been an earnest endeavour to highlight the musical talent of the country. Film music this year has shown great variety and experimentation. It has been a fantastic musical journey and we are very excited to present the third edition of the Chevrolet GIMA Awards."

Click here for the list of GiMA NOMINEES: FILM MUSIC CATEGORY