Favourite films hit IIFA mark, popular stars give it a miss

Usual suspects and deserving candidates anyway, Ashutosh Gowariker and Karan Johar picked up most of the trophies at the third International...

Usual suspects and deserving candidates anyway, Ashutosh Gowariker and Karan Johar picked up most of the trophies at the third International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards at the Genting Highlands Resorts in Malaysia on Saturday.

About 6,000 fans cheered inside the Arena of the Stars, as Lagaan was announced the Best Film, and several thousand movie-buffs who couldn’t land a ticket, made their presence felt by sending up a loud applause from outside.

Star-producer Aamir Khan (also selected Best Actor) was conspicuous by his absence, as were several other winners, including Tabu (Best Actress for Chandni Bar), Govinda (Best Comic Performance for Jodi No 1), Akshay Kumar (Best Negative Performance for Ajnabee), Javed Akhtar (Best Lyrics for Lagaan), Asha Bhonsle (Best Female Playback Singer for Lagaan), Sonu Nigam (Best Male Playback Singer for Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham), Farah Khan (Best Choreography for K3G), and Santosh Sivan (Best Cinematography for Asoka).

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Among those who did take the stage to collect their trophies were Gowariker (Best Director for Lagaan), Amitabh Bachchan (Personality of the Year), Yash Chopra (Invaluable Contribution to Indian Cinema), Sadhana (Lifetime Achievement Award), Saif Ali Khan (Best Supporting Actor for Dil Chahta Hai), Jaya Bachchan (Best Supporting Actress for K3G), Gracy Singh and Bipasha Basu (Faces of the Year), Manish Malhotra (Best Costumes for K3G), Mickey Contractor (Best Make Up for K3G), Farhan Akhtar (Best Screenplay for Dil Chahta Hai), A.R. Rahman (Best Music for Lagaan), Tinnu Verma (Best Action for Gadar), and Karan Johar (Best Dialogue for K3G).

Highlights of the ceremony included a very bald Salman Khan’s impromptu offer to let four blonde pop-stars who accompanied him onstage run their hands across his pate. Also hilarious was Fardeen Khan’s on-the-spot imitation of the Woh ladki hain kahan song, when he was invited to announce the award for Best Choreography. Even as legendary actress Sadhana was walking down after accepting her trophy, actor-film-maker Feroz Khan surprised crowds by paying an impromptu tribute to his former co-star.

Sushmita Sen set the mood for the evening with a pulsating Moulin Rouge number, Shiamak Davar got the audience tapping their feet to his medley of Yash Chopra hits, Amitabh Bachchan and Remo performed to the title song of Aankhen and Isha Koppikar danced to Khallas.

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