20th Annual Life OK Screen Awards/ Winners

As the head honcho and founder of UTV group (established in 1990), now called Disney UTV, Ronnie Screwvala has been the pioneering force in backing some great celluloid stories. The group provided television content to broadcasters, and in a span of less than two decades, UTV expanded into broadcasting, gaming, film and other businesses. The first film produced by his company was Dil Ke Jharoke Mein. He also launched the Hungama Channel in 2004 that become one of the leading children’s television channels in India. Under his creative guidance, the company backed several path-breaking projects, which became commercial successes like Swades, The Blue Umbrella, Rang De Basanti, The NameSake, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Life In a… Metro, A Wednesday, Paan Singh Tomar, No One Killed Jessica, Kai Po Che, Chennai Express among others. With such an impressive track record, Screwvala who handed over the reins of Disney UTV to Siddharth Roy Kapur, deserved to be honoured with Screen’s Outstanding Contribution to Cinema.

“It’s a very emotional moment for me. It’s very heartwarming when after years of work, when you decide to leave, and you’re given an award like this. I’m very happy, and at the same time, I have moist eyes.” — Ronnie Screwvala