- thanks for the news.. GREAT...!!!!!!
-- In arrahmanfans@yahoogroups.com, Gopal Srinivasan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > 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, Bollywood's most sought-after film awards slipped > back into their pre-'90s avatar albeit with Oscar-style nominations at a formal function at > Mumbai's 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 Mehra's postmodern take on pre-Independence revolutionaries; > Omkara, Vishal Bhardwaj's dark and hard-hitting adaptation of Othello; and Lage Raho Munnabhai, > Raj Kumar Hirani's endearing look at Mahatma Gandhi through a gangster's 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. Omkara's tally was a > staggering eight and Lage Raho Munnabhai's 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. He's > 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: Smita's son Prateek, who was a few days old when his mother died, and > Smita's sister were presented with a collage of the actress' photographs, created by Filmfare > and signed and messaged by Smita's 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 Rahman's 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 London's 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, who's been nominated for the > Oscars for a song in Water, chose to perform at the Filmfare function rather than attend the > Academy awards. > This year's lifetime achievement awards went to Javed Akhtar and Jaya Bachchan. While > Akhtar's award was presented to him by Yash Chopra and Ramesh Sippy, the two directors who'd > filmed Salim-Javed's best scripts, Jaya's 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.'' >
