20th Annual Life OK Screen Awards/ Rough Cut

With the telecast of the 20th Annual Life OK Screen Awards behind us, we now bring you Screen’s special edition on the award function as it were. Truly, there is no joy that equals the wistful happiness of sifting through pages packed with photos, past and present. The luxury of relishing each moment, spinning a conversation around a glance, comment or reaction is something that continues to be savoured by all regardless of age groups. Why, long before and much after that fateful evening when the worthies were honoured at a glittering function in the presence of the Screen Jury and many other noteworthy members of the industry, the Team, has still not run out of conversations about it!
Steeped as every member of the team is (to varying degrees) in the proceedings, it’s almost as if time stands still, a little before and after the awards because there are so many things that go into its making. This wonderful initiative introduced by Mr Viveck Goenka, Chairman and Managing Director of The Express Group completing 20 years is quite an achievement by itself and much of the credit would rest with all past editors — Udaya Tara Nayyar, Rauf Ahmed and Bhawana Somaaya — who, within their respective tenures, raised the bar rather high.
To meet the standards set by them has been tough but truth be told, without the management’s unflinching faith that the sanctity of the process should be kept intact, it would have been impossible. It also helps that I have a team that is supportive, ready to swing into action at all times — Ila and Geety deserve a special mention on this count but the rest— Priya and Priya Jr., Madhuri, Ankita, Namita, Farida and Jigar deserve a pat on the back too.
With changing mores, there have been challenges — the demands of television, arrival of new media, blurring of lines between commercial and art-house cinema, the rapidly altering starry demands and so on — but one can take heart from the fact that the Jury system we have adopted has worked well, often throwing up the most unexpected names for the top honours. A few years ago when Udaan was just a film that was feted at Cannes International Film Festival, the Screen Jury gave it the award for the Best Film!
The Jury, from time to time, has also given special recognition to new talent like Neeraj Pandey of A Wednesday fame as also Anand Gandhi for The Ship of Theseus this year. The tried and tested has never been our chosen path — why, this year too, the Jury surprised everyone with its decision to give the award for Best Film to Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and the Best Director to Shoojit Sircar for Madras Cafe!
Often films with unusual content like Firaaq, Gangs of Wasseypur, Parzania and Madras Cafe have been singled out for the Ramnath Goenka Memorial Award for Excellence in Cinema. And the roster of new actors, who land nominations and prestigious awards, is growing every year—Rajkummar Rao and Dhanush (just one film old in Bollywood) found themselves nominated in the Best Actor category along with the mighty Bollywood stars!
We hope to continue the fine tradition of spotting and supporting new talent year after year, so watch out for more surprises next year.