Applauding the best of Hindi cinema

Its that time of the year in Mumbai again time to recognise the defining on-screen performances of the year just gone by....

Its that time of the year in Mumbai again time to recognise the defining on-screen performances of the year just gone by. The Nokia 16th Annual Star Screen Awards,2009 the opening show in the Mumbai film industrys awards calendar and the first honours of Indian cinemas new decade will be announced at Bandra-Kurlas MMRDA Complex Saturday evening.

As always,the stars will be out in strength,and the glitz quotient will be stratospheric. It will be as much an evening to honour talent as it will be to celebrate the dazzling glamour and power of Hindi cinema.

2009s biggest came at its fag end. Aamir Khan-starrer 3 Idiots which released December 25 has become the biggest grosser of all time. The Star Screen Awards jury has nominated it for 21 out of 28 categories. Director Rajkumar Hirani says he is in a daze: It is superb that 3 Idiots has bagged 21 nominations.

Hirani is in the race for Best Director along with Anurag Kashyap Dev.D,Imtiaz Ali Love Aaj Kal,R Balki Paa and Vishal Bhardwaj Kaminey.

All four films have bagged multiple nominations,including Best Film. We are thrilled that Dev.D and Kaminey have been nominated in the Best Film category. They have redefined what the term commercial cinema can now represent, says Siddharth Roy Kapoor,CEO,UTV Motion Pictures,which produced both films.

Screen legend Amitabh Bachchan,nominated for both Jury and Popular Best Actor for the pathbreaking Paa,said,As always,the Screen Awards has set the mood for the awards season. I look forward to witnessing the final result.

Besides Bachchan,the nominees for Best Actor-Male are Aamir Khan 3 Idiots,Ranbir Kapoor Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani/Rocket Singh Salesman of the Year,Saif Ali Khan Love Aaj Kal and Shahid Kapoor Kaminey.

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On the nominations list for the Best Actor-Female Award are Deepika Padukone Love Aaj Kal,Kareena Kapoor 3 Idiots,Katrina Kaif New York,Priyanka Chopra Kaminey and Vidya Balan Paa.

The action will unfold on a giant stage against the backdrop of 45-foot tall Star Screen Awards trophies. A number of high-voltage performances,featuring some of Bollywoods most attractive entertainers,will spice the presentation ceremony. Amitabh Bachchan,Salman Khan,Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor will perform; Bipasha Basu will recreate the carnival feel of All The Best.

And guiding the evenings audience and later,a massive television viewership through it all will be the newest hosts of the Awards ceremony R Madhavan and Shahid Kapoor. Indeed,you can expect some of the best moments of the evening to belong to them.