Jaw dropping performances, teary eyed thank-you speeches with a splash of glamour and gowns – this was the 61st Brittania Filmfare Awards that were held in Mumbai last weekend.
InstepREPORT
Bajirao and Piku roared the loudest at the glitzy night.
Mumbai
Jaw dropping performances, teary eyed thank-you speeches with a splash of glamour and gowns – this was the 61st Brittania Filmfare Awards that were held in Mumbai last weekend.
Bajirao roared the loudest at the glitzy night followed by Piku. But the Oscars of Bollywood came with a pack of surprises, snubs and mismanagement, too.
Tantrums and Doldrums
Having personally attended Filmfare two years in a row, I noted that their organizers face the same challenges from stars as we do. They fight and throw tantrums to get seated in the front row, most of them leave midway after spending a committed couple of minutes, some leave before the show starts when they know their names have not cut the ice this time.
Grapevine has it that Bajrangi Bhaijaan’s director Kabir Khan and his wife Mini Mathur (who spent a good time on the red carpet posing for shutterbugs) did not even wait for the show to begin because somehow they learnt from an insider that it was going to be Bhansali’s night.
Rumour has it that actress Zarine Khan was not invited but she managed to gatecrash the event and even insisted on being seated next to Salman Khan (in the front row). Meanwhile, Masaan team could not find their seats and consequently watched half the show standing in the aisle.
Red Carpet
Red Carpet was buzzing with stars. When Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit entered, the crowd behind the barricades screamed Munna and Mohini at the top of their lungs.
When Salman Khan entered the venue, the crowd transformed into an uncontrollable force as they broke the gate and entered the next barrier to get a clear glimpse of their Bhaijaan.
Fans greeted Amitabh Bachchan with Vijay who stopped and waved like a gladiator to his fans and made his way to the red carpet.
Arjun Kapoor was in a happy mood and dragged Ayushman Khurana for a quick bhangra on the red carpet.
The red hot Deepika Padukone, while posing for the shutterbugs, did not realize that Amitabh Bachchan (with wife Jaya and daughter Shweta) had arrived and was waiting on her, albeit politely. She noticed, apologized and invited him to join her for the impromptu photo session.
Hosts
Bollywood’s ‘King Khan’ teamed up with the ‘King of Comedy’ to give guests and fans an unforgettable evening of 
comic relief.
Kapil Sharma kept pulling Shah Rukh’s leg for Dilwale’s weak performance while Shah Rukh never needed a subject to tease Kapil with. Karan Johar was not spared either. Shah Rukh said that next time Barrack Obama will host the Filmfare ceremony as “‘B’ se sab kuch chalta hai, Bajrangi, Badlapur, Bajirao except Bombay Velvet”.
Alia Bhatt, Irrfan Khan and Sanjay Mishra also co-hosted the show and provided ample dose of laughter.
Winners, Losers and Controversies
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus, Bajirao Mastani, picked up nine awards including Best Film and Best Director. Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh picked up the main awards of the night for Piku and Bajirao Mastani, respectively. Kangana Ranaut won the Critics’ Award for Best Actress (she ideally deserved to win the popular category) for her double punch in Tanu Weds Manu Returns while Amitabh Bachchan was the critics’ choice for Best Actor for Piku. He dedicated his award to his daughter saying: “Betiyan kuch khas hoti hein.”
Though the popular categories were fair, it is strange how two main performances from the same film were eligible for awards in popular and critics simultaneously. But the real stir came with the other set of awards. To begin with, Sooraj Pancholi’s win as for Debut (Male) was a terrible decision. Sooraj was picked over Vicky Kaushal - who gave one of the most honest performances of last year in Masaan as a lower-caste engineering student who burns corpses for a living.
Anil Kapoor was chosen Best Supporting Actor over some serious contenders like Sanjay Mishra in Masaan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Badlapur. Anil, no doubt, had great screen presence in the ensemble cast of Dil Dhadakne Do but Sanjay Mishra’s performance was more realistic. Shah Rukh Khan’s average performance in Dilwale found him a nomination spot but Nawazuddin Siddiqui was not even nominated for his excellent performance as Manjhi - The Mountain Man. Ayushman Khurana’s performance in Dum Laga Ke Haisha also did not make the cut.
Similarly, actresses like Richa Chaddha and Konkona Sen Sharma were not nominated for their strong performances in films like Masaan and Talvar while Sonam Kapoor (Dolly ki Doli… seriously?) and Kajol (Dilwale) were placed in the Best Actress categories. This treatment has a lot to do with how small budget films that represent realistic cinema get sidelined at star-fueled award functions.
Fawad Khan was called on stage to give away the award for Best Debut (Male) and (Female). He looked sharp in a checkered jacket and greeted, ‘Assalam Alaikum, Shah Rukh Sahib’ as he walked on stage.
Performances
‘Gratitude is our Attitude’ was the theme of the night as each performer paid tribute to their respective mentors. Ranveer Singh (who has been signed by Aditya Chopra in his recently announced film Befikre) paid tribute to him and danced on songs like ‘Ruk ja O Dil Dewaane’ from DDLJ and ‘Hum hein rahi’ from Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. Kriti Sanon paid tribute to late actress Sadhana with a mash-up of hits from the ’60s and Alia Bhatt performed to a medley of songs from her father, Mahesh Bhatt’s films.
But it was Salman Khan who stole the show with a medley of his songs, starting from Kabhi Tu Chaliya Lagta Hai to Hum Aapke Hein Kaun to Jumme Ki Raat and his final thumkas on Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo. In a perfect display of their ongoing bromance, Shah Rukh Khan joined Salman on PRDP jig as they performed the film’s now-famous step together.
Special Mention: Ranveer Singh (who has an enviable energy and presence) was the star of the night. Before his stage performance and big win, the actor was called onstage to present the award for Best Choreography. In a sharp display of confidence and star power, Ranveer performed on each song nominated in the category. The wild child of the industry, who can count Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha in his fans, has a great future ahead of him.
Also noteworthy was Deepika Padukone’s emotional acceptance speech, which was was actually her father’s letter that he had written when Deepika was aspiring to be an actor.
– Sadiq Saleem, is a UAE based entertainment journalist. He can be contacted on his page fb/sidsaidso.
