Rang De Basanti, Omkara and Lage Raho Munnabhai turn Fair One Filmfare 2006
awards into a
three-horse race as Hrithik Roshan and Kajol bag the top acting honours
The Times of India
Mumbai: It was a sepia-tinged return to the time when the Filmfare awards
ceremony was a
closed-door affair exclusively for the film industry. After decades of open-air
events, replete
with colour, crowds and boisterous gaiety, Bollywoods most sought-after film
awards slipped
back into their pre-90s avatar albeit with Oscar-style nominations at a
formal function at
Mumbais plush Yashraj Studio. The funand-excitement quotient, of course,
remained the same.
The evening belonged indisputably to three films, which divided the honours
between them:
Rang De Basanti, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehras postmodern take on pre-Independence
revolutionaries;
Omkara, Vishal Bhardwajs dark and hard-hitting adaptation of Othello; and Lage
Raho Munnabhai,
Raj Kumar Hiranis endearing look at Mahatma Gandhi through a gangsters eyes.
RDB swept five
main awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Music, Best Cinematography and Best
Editing) as
well as Best Actor (Critics) for Aamir Khan and the R D Burman award. Omkaras
tally was a
staggering eight and Lage Raho Munnabhais five. The Best Actor and Best
Actress awards went to
Hrithik Roshan for Dhoom 2 and Kajol for Fanaa.
Through the evening, MC Shah Rukh Khan joined in different segments by
Juhi Chawla, Lara
Dutta and Preity Zinta kept the audience in splits with his one-liners and
deadpan asides.
Samples: My resolution this year: Main Bachchan saab ki koi bhi film nahin
karoonga. SRK
brought the house down, reminding viewers of the laugh-riot he had created with
co-host Saif
Ali Khan at the Filmfare awards function a few years ago. This year, Saif s
sudden illness
came in the way of his partnering SRK. Said SRK, The only thing I miss is my
friend Saif. Hes
a bit laid oops, a bit laid up this year.
In between the chuckles, a measure of sobriety and nostalgia. An
audiovisual remembered all
those who passed away in 2006, including Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Naushad, O P
Nayyar, Kamleshwar
and Padmini. The 20th death anniversary of the late Smita Patil comes up this
May, and Filmfare
paid tribute to the actress with a special audio-visual and a speech by Shabana
Azmi. A
heartwarming touch: Smitas son Prateek, who was a few days old when his mother
died, and
Smitas sister were presented with a collage of the actress photographs,
created by Filmfare
and signed and messaged by Smitas colleagues. Said Shabana of the talented
actress whose
smouldering presence and brilliant acting lit up art and commercial films
alike, She was like
my soul sister.
Another highlight: A R Rahmans performance of his composition from The
Lord of The Rings.
The Filmfare audience was treated to a song from the epic musical adaptation of
the Tolkien
classic which premiered at Canada last year and will play in Londons West End
this June.
Closer home, Rahman performed Khalbali from Rang De Basanti and a song from
Guru to much
applause from the audience. Interestingly, the musical genius, whos been
nominated for the
Oscars for a song in Water, chose to perform at the Filmfare function rather
than attend the
Academy awards.
This years lifetime achievement awards went to Javed Akhtar and Jaya
Bachchan. While
Akhtars award was presented to him by Yash Chopra and Ramesh Sippy, the two
directors whod
filmed Salim-Javeds best scripts, Jayas trophy was handed to her by her
husband. Another
family moment occurred when Aishwarya Rai presented fiance Abhishek Bachchan
with the Best
Supporting Actor for Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna: That looked planned, quipped
Abhishek when she
presented him with the award. I thank my family, he said and looked at
Aishwarya and added
jokingly, almost as an afterthought, You too, which prompted Shah Rukh to
say when Abhishek
left the stage, Hopefully next year you will thank your wife too.
Making her first public appearance after the Celebrity Big Brother brouhaha
was Shilpa
Shetty. Said Karan Johar, This year at Heathrow when people smiled at me, I
thought my films
were really doing well globally. Then I realised it was because I came from the
land of Shilpa
Shetty.
