Nominations for Screen-Videocon awards announced

MUMBAI, Jan 4: It is that time of the year again. Time to acknowledge, honour and applaud the best of showbiz 8212; the people who made 1998 a truly entertaining experience. Time to give out the most distinguished trophies in the business. Time for stars and technicians alike, to sit back and bask in the glory of their momentous achievements. Time to raise a toast to the movie magic. Time for the Fifth Screen Videocon Awards for excellence in cinema, television and non-film music.

The 1998 Bollywood story will unfold at the sprawling Andheri Sports Complex on January 16, 1999. This year8217;s list of nominees includes films like Ghulam, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, Satya and Zakhm, and the cream of Bollywood stars and technicians, from Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgan, Govinda, Kajol, Manisha Koirala, Naseeruddin Shah, Rani Mukherjee and Shah Rukh Khan to Karan Johar, A R Rahman, Anu Malik, Jatin-Lalit, Farah Khan, Binod Pradhan, Govind Nihalani and Santosh Sivan.

Instituted in 1994 by theScreen Weekly 8212; the largest selling entertainment news weekly from the Express Group of publications 8212; and sponsored by Videocon, the Screen Awards are obviously different from other awards in that the nominations and selection of winners is done by a panel of distinguished professionals from the industry itself 8212; in a manner similar to the Oscars. And the criteria for winning is professional excellence, not just popular view. This year, the jury is headed by none other than veteran actor-producer-director Sunil Dutt. And the list of nominations in the Hindi film categories holds all promise of a nail-biting finish.