In early Jan., the channel invited film producers and production banners to submit entries under the 20 declared categories. Only Punjabi films released in the calendar year 2011 were eligible for PTC Punjabi Film Awards 2012. A panel, comprising of eminent personalities from the Punjabi film industry, then finalized the list of nominees, who were publisized throughout the PTC Network, ads in Punjab editions of publications, the dedicated website, social media and voting forms at retail outlets. The winners were decided with equal weightage given to viewer votes, via SMS and the website, and recommendations of members of the Punjabi film industry. These members also nominated veterans from the industry to be honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards, along with the finalisation of the Critics awards.

Commenting on the awards and the future of the Punjabi film industry, Rajiee M. Shinde, COO, PTC Network said: "With the success of Punjabi Films at the Box Office in Punjab and internationally in the past couple of years, it is evident that films are gaining prominence in the scheme of things. The music industry of Punjab is practically doubling up as the film industry itself. The singing stars of Punjab are now acting in lead roles of Punjabi films and drawing audiences to theatres. We see tremendous growth in the scope and financials of Punjabi films in the coming years. PTC Punjabi Film Awards are a humble initiative by PTC Punjabi to promote and support the surging Punjabi film industry."

"For Punjabis, PTC is a brand synonymous with faith, pride, respect and Punjabiyat. It is clear that Punjabi viewers share a deep emotional bond with PTC. With each passing year, the expectation of a viewer from Brand PTC is increasing and it is this expectation that propels us towards excellence. We have huge regard for the music and film industry of Punjab, which has turned up in great numbers to each of our award functions. Without their whole hearted support, executing events of such a scale would have been impossible," added Rabindra Narayan, President, PTC Network.

The event featured Ritesh Deshmukh, Genelia D'Souza, Dharmendra, Ali Zafar, Aditi Rao, Tusshar Kapoor, Kulraj Randhawa, Anupam Kher, Prem Chopra, Anita Raj and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. Other celebrities who attended included Goldie Behl, Manmohan Singh, Arya Babbar, Babu Singh Maan, Jaidev, Jaspinder Narula, Deep Dhillon, Avtar Gill, Tulip Joshi, Jimmy Shergill, Gippy Grewal, Satinder Sartaj, Neeru Bajwa, Jasbir Jassi, Tisca Chopra, Kimi Verma, Guggu Gill, Rana Ranbir, Jaspal Bhatti, Jaswinder Bhalla, Yograj Singh, Dheeraj Kumar, and Satti. Sukbir and Master Saleem crooned to popular Punjabi and Bollywood songs while Punjabi actresses Neeru Bajwa and Surveen Chawla performed to scintillating numbers.