Deepika, Farhan win Filmfare Best Actor awards

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag grabs six wins at the awards ceremony.

The star-studded Filmfare Awards ceremony was held at YashRaj Studio in Andheri, Friday evening.  Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, the incredibly realistic biopic of sprint champion Milkha Singh, scored three out of the top four awards, including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Film.

The picture won a total of six prizes. Milkha Singh had made the country proud in the 50s and 60s, and his story proved extremely lucky for Bollywood in 2013 as well.

Farhan Akhtar outran fellow nominees in the race for Best Actor while Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra gained winning position as Best Director. Deepika Padukone, who was expected to win Best Actress given she had two nominations, won for Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela. She was also nominated for her role as Meenamma in Chennai Express.

Leading the list of nominations were films that did well at the box office in 2013, even if not all of them made it to the ‘100-crore club.’ Chennai Express shared space with Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Ramleela and Raanjhanaa. The jury also acknowledged the popularity of Kai Po Che, Aashiqui 2, Lootera, Krrish 3 and The Lunchbox.

Deepika and Farhan speak after receiving the best actor awards. PHOTO: FILE

Javed Akhtar was cheering for son Farhan all the way. “We are here with great hope for Farhan,” he said earlier in the evening, as wife Shabana interjected to say, “Farhan has to win, his movie also has to win.”

“He ran so fast that he has to reach somewhere. My most memorable Filmfare was the one in 1975 when I won three awards. This was the year when both Sholay and Deewar released. When the third award was announced, there was thunderous applause. This year I am happy to cheer for my son,” she added.

With Indian cinema having turned a century old last year, this year’s awards ceremony looked towards a futuristic theme. Host Ranbir Kapoor wore an outfit designed in metallic colours, offset with small cubes. A robot with jerky movements kept him company. He moved among the guests as he waited for co-host Priyanka Chopra to join him. Approaching actress Rekha who looked beautiful in a bright yellow sari, Ranbir held her hand and narrated the verse from Silsila, main aur meri tanhai. The actress returned his affection. “You don’t know how much I love you. No one will ever love you the way I love you,” she smiled.

The glitter of the ‘100-crore club’ rubbed off on stage as well. The evening derived its charm from medley performances by Madhuri Dixit, Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Shahid Kapur, Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra. Ranbir Kapoor made no apologies for his bold moves, and held nothing back. Comeback girl Madhuri looked resplendent in a magenta ensemble straight out of the ‘60s.  Salman Khan’s energy was clearly infectious; the audience enjoyed his robust tracks from Dabangg and Dabangg 2. Dhoom was clearly Katrina Kaif’s USP while Priyanka Chopra had her oomph moment in Sari ke fall sa.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2014.

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