No shocks,but awe for sure

There were several neutrals,such as the veteran actor Dev Anand. Anand drove down from Mahabaleshwar for the awards. “I’m here because I feel it is important to pay respects to the young talent,” he said. Saurabh Shukla naturally wanted those nominated for Raat Gayi Baat Gayi?,which he directed,to win but insisted that he held no favourites in other categories since “they’re all my friends”. Javed Jaffrey was diplomatic,saying,“I liked Kaminey for the execution,Paa for the story but 3 Idiots seems most popular”.

Among the guests were the nervous first-timers,such as Jesse Randhawa and Abhimanyu Singh,both nominated for Most Promising Newcomer for their roles in the terrific Gulaal. For Singh,it was his first red carpet event and he said “I’m grateful for the break I got in Gulaal. I haven’t prepared a speech if I do win,so I’m not sure what I will say.” Giselli Monteiro,the Brazilian who debuted in Love Aaj Kal,had never been to an awards function either. “My friends and family back home are sitting by the telephone,” she said. Randhawa didn’t have a speech prepared as well,but modestly said she was surprised to be even nominated. Gauhar Khan,another newcomer was nominated in the same category for her role in Rocket Singh,said she was hopeful that her co-star,Ranbir Kapoor (who she still refers to as Harpreet,his character in the film) would win the Best Actor award. Vidya Malvade,a novice in the industry,was excited to be there despite not being nominated since she received her first award nomination and win for her role in Chak De! India at the Screen Awards in 2008.

The guests also comprised of veterans to award shows,such as singer Ila Arun and Celina Jaitley who were both pleased that guests at the awards have,in the recent past,been making a lot of effort with their attire. “Nowadays,people go to designers to get attire especially for award ceremonies,” says Arun,who was sporting jewellery provided by Amrapali. Jaitley,a cinema buff,saw all five films nominated for Best Film and said that “For me,Paa and 3 Idiots were on par. In the female actors,though,I think Priyanka Chopra deserves to win for her role in Kaminey.” While several guests,including Chunky Pandey and Neha Dhupia thought Chopra would win Best Actor (Female),Dia Mirza thought it would be Kareena Kapoor,with the eventual winner being Vidya Balan. In the Best Actor (Male) category,a majority of guests thought it would be Shahid Kapoor for Kaminey; except Abhishek Bachchan who was confident his father Amitabh would win it (he eventually did).

As for the Best Film,Riteish Deshmukh was visibly pleased with the nominations as they reflected the diversity of films made by the industry whilst still catering to the mainstream. Director Anurag Kashyap reflected a similar view,though said that “I don’t think Dev.D will win for best film purely because of the popularity of 3 Idiots.”

Imtiaz Ali,director of Love Aaj Kal,was similarly playing down his chances; “I’ve got to be realistic. 3 Idiots will win best film and best director trophies,” he said. Amrita Rao was possibly the only one who said 3 Idiots wasn’t her personal tip for Best Film. Rao,however,said she couldn’t pick one since all five were too varied. Predictably,though,3 Idiots won for Best Film,but the night was still one to remember for the guests.