Ringside View

Omkar Das Manikpuri was the first to arrive. He walked in clad in a leather jacket,rugged denims and boots. The actor had arrived earlier in the morning from Chhattisgarh and was overheard telling a relative who accompanied him,“This is my first awards function. I chose to make it to the venue way before time,just to see what it is like.”

Frontbenchers

Vidya Balan,who walked in with her parents and sat in the front row,was in high spirits,even grooving along a bit when Shahid Kapoor performed. As for frontbencher Arshad Warsi,the actor was quite unlike his vivacious on-screen persona. Apart from greeting Shabana Azmi and Akbar Khan,he did not interact much with the other stars. The only exception he made was when Vidya Balan,who won the Best Actress Award,thanked him. That’s when Arshad and wife Maria Goretti loudly cheered.

Doting mom

Poonam Sinha was extremely protective of daughter Sonakshi. Each time the girl stepped out,Poonam would ask her where she was heading. When Sonakshi won the Most Promising Newcomer (Female) Award for her performance in Dabangg,her mother,who could not control her excitement,rushed to her and hugged her tightly.

Three Cheers

Among newcomers,it was Ranveer Singh who got all the audience attention when he broke down,soon after receiving the award. The young actor,who just could not stop crying,had his own cheering section waiting for him as soon as he stepped off the stage. That included director

Maneesh Sharma,editor Namrata Rao and fashion designer Niharika Khan,who quickly called up Ranveer’s mother to give her the news. Soon after receiving the award,he rushed to Yash Chopra and touched his feet. Chopra patted the first-time winner on his back and congratulated him on his success.

Friendly act

Brothers Aarya Babbar and Pratik hung around with each other and also went together to congratulate a couple of winners. Mugdha Godse,Jacqueline Fernandez,Celina Jaitly and Tanushree Dutta too,bonded at the event.