Sunday, June 10, 2007

'Rang De Basanti & Lage Raho Munna Bhai Sweeps IIFA Awards

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's runaway blockbuster 'Rang De Basanti' pipped 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' to win the Best Film award at the star-studded Idea IIFA Awards ceremony here Saturday night that showcased the extravaganza, glitz and glamour of the Indian film industry.

Apart from the over 10,000 people present at the state-of-the-art Sheffield Hallam FM Arena, the show will be watched by millions when it is telecast on Star later this month. The audience was treated to four hours of non-stop entertainment involving the biggest names in the Mumbai-based industry, also known as Bollywood.

'Rang De Basanti' won five awards, just one more than the hugely popular 'Lage Raho Munnabhai', which finished a close second.

Filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani was awarded the Best Director for 'Lage Raho...', the Best Actor award went to Hrithik Roshan for his powerful portrayal of a superhero in 'Krrish' and Rani Mukherji was the Best Actress for her intense acting in 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'.

Soha Ali Khan bagged the Best Supporting Actress award for her subdued yet composed acting in 'Rang De...', while Arshad Warsi lifted the Best Supporting Actor's trophy for his rib-tickling performance in 'Lage Raho...'.

Tusshar Kapoor received the award of Best Actor in a Comic Role for his antics as a dumb man in 'Golmaal' and Saif Ali Khan won the Best Actor in a Negative Role for his brilliant performance in 'Omkara', Bollywood's adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'Othello', where his character of an ambitious and scheming man earned him rave reviews.

Bachchan 'bahu' Aishwarya and Hrithik Roshan were chosen for the Glamour Stars of the year awards. Director Rakesh Roshan was given the Creative Person of the year award, while Oscar-nominated director Deepa Mehta was honoured for her contribution to Indian films outside India.

Cricket legend Geoffrey Boycott honoured Shilpa Shetty on behalf of local authorities for her poise on the British reality television show 'Celebrity Big Brother', which she won in January.

Hirani and Abhijit Joshi won the Best Dialogue award for 'Lage Raho...' and Hirani tasted success again as he pipped others to win the Best Story award for the same film, while Renzil D'Silva and Mehra bagged the Best Screenplay for 'Rang De...'.

'Omkara', 'Dhoom:2' and 'Fanaa' won two awards each at the event, which witnessed sizzling dance performances by superstars Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar, sultry Bipasha Basu and other Bollywood stars like Emraan Hashmi and Aaftab Shivdasani.

But the performances of the night came from the 32-year-old Shilpa Shetty, who was cheered on by the people as she danced to the tunes of the hit songs 'Crazy Kiya Re...' and 'Main Sadke Jawan...'.

Akshay Kumar later brought the house down with his energetic performance to Punjabi numbers such as 'Rabba, rabba' and 'Aja mahi'. Amitabh and his son Abhishek also drew sustained applause as they danced to popular tunes.

Upen Patel and Kangana Ranaut were declared the best debutants of last year. The Best Editor award went to P.S. Bharti for 'Rang De Basanti', J.A. James won Best Make-up for 'Dhoom:2' and Anaita Shroff Adajania bagged the Best Costume award for her stylish innovations with outfits in the same film.

Sunidhi Chauhan received the Best Female Singer award for her hit song 'Beedi Jalaile...' from the film 'Omkara' while Shaan was the Best Male Singer for 'Chand Sifarish...' from the film 'Fanaa'.

The Best Lyricist award went to Prasoon Joshi for penning the song 'Chand Sifarish...' from 'Fanaa' and A.R. Rahman won the Best Music award for his soulful melodies in 'Rang De Basanti'.

The elaborate set decoration, mega decibel music, lavish use of lights and colours and presence of the top names of Indian film industry - Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek, Aishwarya, Yash Chopra, Shilpa Shetty, Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta - made the event a spectacle for the audience.

Versatile character-actor Boman Irani and svelte Lara Dutta hosted this year's IIFA awards, which marked the end of the IIFA Weekend that brought top names of the Indian celluloid to the region.

IIFA rolled out a 'Green Carpet' this year, deviating from the tradition of a 'Red Carpet' welcome to celebrities, as it had taken up environmental issues in a bid to save the planet.

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