The Countdown Begins

In many ways,last year was a landmark year for the Hindi film industry. Ordinary people,their struggles and aspirations,found greater space than ever before on the celluloid screen. This was reflected in the words of director Rajkumar Hirani when he picked up his Best Director trophy for 3 Idiots. “I dedicate this award to those teachers who teach from the heart rather than from the book.” As the 16th Star Screen Awards proved,this was a sentiment that had the movie-going public’s wholehearted approval. The biggest winner of the evening,3 Idiots,with 10 awards,was a movie that discussed the average Joe’s struggle in a world that defined happiness in terms of material success. Paa,which won major acting honours,celebrated the joie de vivre of an ailing child,and the dark horse,Kaminey,pitted two brothers — a stuttering social worker and a lisping goon — against each other and some truly random twists of fate. None of these movies had a larger-than-life hero figure who could show the way or rescue the distressed. As Shahid Kapur pointed out,it was the end of the Perfect Hero. Clearly the public thought so too,as it rewarded Kapur with the Best Actor award in the popular category.

Both old and new talents were celebrated — while Amitabh Bachchan picked up the Best Actor trophy,Vidya Balan won the Best Actress,both for Paa. Their co-star,Arundhati Nag,who was attending a film award ceremony for the first time,won the Best Supporting Actress award while Rishi Kapoor won for his supporting role in Love Aaj Kal. Mahie Gill and Omi Vaidya impressed the jury enough to bag the Best Debut awards. The latter picked up another trophy for Best Actor in a Comic Role. A debut that made a big impact was Nandita Das’s. The first time director won the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Award as well as the Most Promising Debutante Director trophy for her hard-hitting film,Firaaq.

The starry evening in Bandra’s MMRDA Grounds saw more than just a celebration of this iconoclasm. It was also an evening that saw industry stalwarts let their hair down,as ensured by the hosts for the evening. Salman Khan set the stage on fire by dancing to Jalwa,from his hit film Wanted,while Kapur,dressed in fatigues and accessorising himself with guns and a motorbike,gave an electrifying performance to Dhan Te Nan from Kaminey.

The hosts deserve a lot of credit for making the evening as memorable as it was. The house roared with laughter at the gags of hosts Omi Vaidya and R Madhavan,both of whom were first-time anchors. “This is the most unnerving thing I have ever done. I have a long way to go before I can be a perfect presenter,” said Madhavan.

The celebrities really started getting into the party mood when Kapur teamed up with his confessed icon,Shah Rukh Khan to host the last segment. Khan,famous for his witticism,got Vidhu Vinod Chopra to yell “shut up” in imitation of his earlier confrontation with the media. The highlight of the evening,however,came after Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan went on stage to receive their Best Jodi award. Khan and Kapur requested senior Bachchan to teach them the popular ‘Auro dance’ — it ended with all four men on stage doing the goofy dance to thunderous applause.