Screen awards enter new decade: stars glitter and also reflect

That began on a reflective, emotional note when lyricist Javed Akhtar asked the audience to remember the victims and survivors of the tsunami tragedy. ‘‘Yeh shaam bahut rangeen sahi, is shaam mein gam ka ehsaas bhi hai,’’ (This evening may be a glittering one but there’s also a palpable grief) said Akhtar as a preface to a song he had written for the occasion. Called Zindagi Pukarti Hai, it showcases a rare collaboration in the music industry: composed by Jatin Lalit, it was sung by 18 singers, including Sunidhi Chauhan, Kailash Kher, Babul Supriyo, Kunal Ganjawalla, Alka Yagnik, Roopkumar Rathod, Shankar Mahadevan and Sadhna Sargam.

The four cornerstones of social responsibility, communal harmony, national integration and economic development were what film-makers needed to tap into, said chief guest of the evening I&B Minister Jaipal Reddy.

As part of the government’s reforms for the industry, he said that changes were likely in the Cinematography Act to address ‘‘new challenges.’’ And that a panel was looking into ‘‘reforming and modernising’’ the censorship process and strengthening laws on piracy. But laughs, not government policy was on host Sajid Khan’s mind. His impressions of directors Randhir Kapoor, Rakesh Roshan and Feroz Khan appealed to Amitabh Bachchan—who was there with wife Jaya and son Abhishek—so much that he declared, ‘‘He’s mind-blowing.’’

And not without reason, the humour was spot on: camera mobile phones were Bollywood’s most important special effects, Raincoat flopped because it wasn’t released in June and if Yash Chopra didn’t win this year, he was bound to institute his own awards next year.

Other guests included Shammi Kapoor, Waheeda Rahman, M F Husain, Shah Rukh Khan with wife Gauri, Aishwarya Rai, Rekha, Shabana Azmi, Farhan Akhtar, Urmila Matondkar, Yash Chopra, Hema Malini, Sharmila Tagore, Vinod Khanna, Shilpa Shetty, Kunal Kohli, Manmohan Shetty and Ramesh Sippy.