Tag: Amitabh Bachchan

  • Producer, trade analyst and editor Vikas Mohan no more

    Producer, trade analyst and editor Vikas Mohan no more

    NEW DELHI: Renowned Bollywood analyst and film producer Vikas Mohan passed away today, aged 65. Mohan who was founder editor of the film trade paper ‘Super Cinema’ suffered a heart attack yesterday evening and was hospitalized. His end came early this morning.

    Mohan is survived by his wife and two sons who were presently working with him on his magazine. Mohan had undergone a by-pass surgery around two decades earlier.

    Vikas had produced the Gulzar-directed ‘Libaas’ in 1988 earlier which became a national award winner and later produced the film “Arzoo” in 1999 starring Akshay Kumar and Madhuri Dixit.

    The last rites were held this afternoon in the presence of a large number of Bollywood celebrities and media persons.

    Prior to launching ‘Super Cinema’, Mohan had been editor of ‘Complete Cinema’ which is now edited by his brother Kumar Mohan.

    Known to always help out filmmakers, at least nine other Bollywood films including ‘Shagird’, ‘No Problem’, ‘Action Replayy’, ‘Akrosh’, ‘Anjaane’ and ‘Page 3’ carried special or sincere thanks to him in the credits.

    Several Bollywood celebrities mourned the death of Mohan. They described him as a respected and wonderful human being.

    Megastar Amitabh Bachchan tweeted: “Vikas Mohan, senior journalist owner of Trade magazine, eminent member of film association passes away. Our prayers and condolences.”

    Filmmaker Karan Johar in a tweet called him a “a truly respected and loved member of our fraternity… Always helpful and supportive…thoughts and prayers to the family”.

    RIP Vikas Mohan…a truly respected and loved member of our fraternity…always helpful and supportive…thoughts and prayers to the family

    Filmmaker-actor Satish Kaushik paid condolences on the “demise of dear friend Vikas Mohan… May his soul rest in peace”. He tweeted: Sad to hear abt demise of dear friend # Vikas Mohan..my heartfelt condolences to @amul_mohan and mohan family..may his soul rest in peace..

    Veteran actor Anupam Kher said: “Deeply saddened to know about the demise of Vikas Mohan ji. Apart from a veteran film trade analyst, he was wonderful and helpful human being.”

    Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, saddened by the news of Mohan’s passing away, remembered him as an “always helpful and supportive” person.

    Actor Hrithik Roshan shared that Mohan was “one of the most dignified honest and respected journalist”, while actress Sophie Choudry said he was “always so full of life”.

    Bipasha Basu: You will be missed Vikas Mohanji. RIP Strength to Amul Mohan, Anshul and family.

  • Karishma, Sridevi serials on Sahara TV in April, June 2003

    Karishma, Sridevi serials on Sahara TV in April, June 2003

    MUMBAI: Sahara TV is firming up its plans to leverage its mega serials starring Bollywood stars during the forthcoming summer vacations. Also, the free-to-air Sahara channel will showcase the serials before the 14 July 2003 deadline when conditional access system will become a reality in the metros.

    Bollywood actress Karisma Kapoor’s TV debut Karisma The Miracle of Destiny will launch on 28 April on Sahara TV. The serial will be aired Mondays to Thursdays at prime time. According to Sahara Media and Entertainment head Sumit Roy, the serial will be of a finite duration and will not exceed 262 episodes.

    The second attraction of Sahara TV will be the Sridevi starrer Hamari Bahu Malini Iyer that will go on air by end May or first week of June.

    This serial too, will be aired Mondays to Thursdays at prime time, in conjunction with Karisma The Miracle of Destiny and will be telecast for a finite 208 episodes.

    The end of the year will see the debut of Amitabh Bachchan in the capacity of an actor in another mega serial. Roy refused to divulge details about the Bachchan starrer.

    “We will be in the top bracket of entertainment channels within a year,” promises Roy.

  • Karishma, Sridevi serials on Sahara TV in April, June 2003

    Karishma, Sridevi serials on Sahara TV in April, June 2003

    MUMBAI: Sahara TV is firming up its plans to leverage its mega serials starring Bollywood stars during the forthcoming summer vacations. Also, the free-to-air Sahara channel will showcase the serials before the 14 July 2003 deadline when conditional access system will become a reality in the metros.

    Bollywood actress Karisma Kapoor’s TV debut Karisma The Miracle of Destiny will launch on 28 April on Sahara TV. The serial will be aired Mondays to Thursdays at prime time. According to Sahara Media and Entertainment head Sumit Roy, the serial will be of a finite duration and will not exceed 262 episodes.

    The second attraction of Sahara TV will be the Sridevi starrer Hamari Bahu Malini Iyer that will go on air by end May or first week of June.

    This serial too, will be aired Mondays to Thursdays at prime time, in conjunction with Karisma The Miracle of Destiny and will be telecast for a finite 208 episodes.

    The end of the year will see the debut of Amitabh Bachchan in the capacity of an actor in another mega serial. Roy refused to divulge details about the Bachchan starrer.

    “We will be in the top bracket of entertainment channels within a year,” promises Roy.

  • Yesudas’s triggerbridge to launch ‘Un-News Hour’

    Yesudas’s triggerbridge to launch ‘Un-News Hour’

    MUMBAI: More often than not, negative and disturbing news dominates prime time television and suppresses the good that happens all around and hence paints a rather cynical picture of society. With an aim to bring these positive stories to the fore, triggerbridge -the unagency by S Yesudas, in partnership with Ajit Nair and Amit Tripathi, has planned the ‘Un News Hour.’

    “It is a one-hour prime time news capsule across English, Hindi and all other vernacular languages, which will air only happy news of human achievements, however small or big the achievement might be,” explained media veteran and entrepreneur, Yesudas.

    “With every other noise that’s being made everywhere else, this in my opinion, will be an equalizer of sorts, and will be a huge opportunity for those unsung heroes to be recognized, day after day and a big ground of motivation for many more to embark on such initiatives,” he added.

    When quizzed about the choice of the title for the initiative, which has indirect reference to Arnab Goswami’s flagship ‘News Hour’ Yesudas shared, “While there was no inspiration from Arnab, I can’t deny the potential of Arnab himself owning up both the News Hour, which is about debate on hot topics in the country and the Un-News Hour, which is just simply happy news to triggerhappy conversations. I have interacted with Arnab and he is a very different human being personally, gentle, soft spoken, intuitive and brilliant. Un-News Hour will give him an opportunity to portray his actual personality where he doesn’t have to lose his cool or get upset with people who are covering up etc”

    While the idea is definitely noble, due to lack of proper planning and participation such social initiatives seldom see the light of the day. To this Yesudas commented, “I don’t think any genuine initiative ever fails. If there are hidden agendas, yes it will, much like how Free Basics failed and odd/even (Delhi) succeeded. Both happened around the same time, the former began with so-called support and the later with all the negativity possible. But it is the purity in purpose that made odd/even a success. The attempt here is to motivate people by raising their awareness to the wonderful things that are happening around them. As a dear friend of mine said it is strategy without a map. And yet each element is beautifully tied into each other through human knots of kindness.”

    Putting the scale of the initiative in perspective, one can’t help but wonder how triggerbridge planned to cover the costs. “I’m looking for support from clients to cover the actual expenses, not for advertising, but for them to be known for doing something much more meaningful for the people of India. I am happy to say there have been people calling in offering their support in various ways. I got a call from an institute that trains in cinematography, with many trained camera units. They offered to become part of our cause. I have had a doctor calling up offering support. Many friends are waiting in line to offer all kinds of support. I’ve also tweeted the PM, celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, requesting each to give the initiative wings,” explained Yesudas.

    The entire concept is heavily dependent on partnerships with channels and networks that believe in the cause. “I’m talking to all possible channels. I know this is disruptive and this is not for someone who is only focused on transactions. We are sure to align with a few like-minded people. Conversations are ongoing as we speak. Within two to three weeks we will be able to share names of concrete partners and the status report,” Yesudas concluded.

  • Yesudas’s triggerbridge to launch ‘Un-News Hour’

    Yesudas’s triggerbridge to launch ‘Un-News Hour’

    MUMBAI: More often than not, negative and disturbing news dominates prime time television and suppresses the good that happens all around and hence paints a rather cynical picture of society. With an aim to bring these positive stories to the fore, triggerbridge -the unagency by S Yesudas, in partnership with Ajit Nair and Amit Tripathi, has planned the ‘Un News Hour.’

    “It is a one-hour prime time news capsule across English, Hindi and all other vernacular languages, which will air only happy news of human achievements, however small or big the achievement might be,” explained media veteran and entrepreneur, Yesudas.

    “With every other noise that’s being made everywhere else, this in my opinion, will be an equalizer of sorts, and will be a huge opportunity for those unsung heroes to be recognized, day after day and a big ground of motivation for many more to embark on such initiatives,” he added.

    When quizzed about the choice of the title for the initiative, which has indirect reference to Arnab Goswami’s flagship ‘News Hour’ Yesudas shared, “While there was no inspiration from Arnab, I can’t deny the potential of Arnab himself owning up both the News Hour, which is about debate on hot topics in the country and the Un-News Hour, which is just simply happy news to triggerhappy conversations. I have interacted with Arnab and he is a very different human being personally, gentle, soft spoken, intuitive and brilliant. Un-News Hour will give him an opportunity to portray his actual personality where he doesn’t have to lose his cool or get upset with people who are covering up etc”

    While the idea is definitely noble, due to lack of proper planning and participation such social initiatives seldom see the light of the day. To this Yesudas commented, “I don’t think any genuine initiative ever fails. If there are hidden agendas, yes it will, much like how Free Basics failed and odd/even (Delhi) succeeded. Both happened around the same time, the former began with so-called support and the later with all the negativity possible. But it is the purity in purpose that made odd/even a success. The attempt here is to motivate people by raising their awareness to the wonderful things that are happening around them. As a dear friend of mine said it is strategy without a map. And yet each element is beautifully tied into each other through human knots of kindness.”

    Putting the scale of the initiative in perspective, one can’t help but wonder how triggerbridge planned to cover the costs. “I’m looking for support from clients to cover the actual expenses, not for advertising, but for them to be known for doing something much more meaningful for the people of India. I am happy to say there have been people calling in offering their support in various ways. I got a call from an institute that trains in cinematography, with many trained camera units. They offered to become part of our cause. I have had a doctor calling up offering support. Many friends are waiting in line to offer all kinds of support. I’ve also tweeted the PM, celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, requesting each to give the initiative wings,” explained Yesudas.

    The entire concept is heavily dependent on partnerships with channels and networks that believe in the cause. “I’m talking to all possible channels. I know this is disruptive and this is not for someone who is only focused on transactions. We are sure to align with a few like-minded people. Conversations are ongoing as we speak. Within two to three weeks we will be able to share names of concrete partners and the status report,” Yesudas concluded.

  • Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan amongst 500 Indians named in Panama Papers; Modi calls for a multi- agency probe

    Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan amongst 500 Indians named in Panama Papers; Modi calls for a multi- agency probe

    MUMBAI: In a shocking revelation, popular Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan and his daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have been identified amongst 500 Indians with secret offshore accounts.

    Apart from the Bachchans, several business tycoons and industrialists’ names have also come up in the list including DLF promoter K P Singh and Indiabulls promoter Sameer Gehlaut, family members of the promoters of Apollo Tyres and a number of politicians.

    Two politicians who figure on the list are Shishir Bajoria from West Bengal and Anurag Kejriwal, the former chief of the Delhi unit of Loksatta Party, an Indian Express report read.

    According to latest update on the development, PM Modi has welcomed this investigation that is being termed by the media as the ‘greatest leak’ so far. Taking matters into hand, the government has  ordered a multi-agency team to investigate the 500 Indians, who were named in the Panama Paper.

    The team comprising of experts on tax and foreign exchange transactions, will work with financial crime-fighting agencies to investigate ‘the flow of information in each one of the cases.’

    This revelation comes as part of a new data leak  from an anonymous source through German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung which was later shared globally by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). In India, one of the leading dailies, The Indian Express was a part of the investigation. Together the media groups have investigated a massive leak of 11.5 million documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama based law firm.    According to the records, the listed individuals who have paid the firm for a secretive, lax regulatory system that helped them to set up offshore entities in tax havens around the world.

    ‘Amitabh Bachchan was appointed director in at least four offshore shipping companies set up in 1993. Similarly, Aishwarya Rai and her family members were registered in 2005 as directors of Amic Partners Limited. Her status was later changed to share holder before the company was dissolved in 2008. DLF promoters KP Singh acquired a company registered in British Virgin Islands in 2010. His family’s three offshore entities hold almost $10 million,’ the report further stated.

    While owning offshore funds by itself isn’t illegal, as per the Reserve Bank of India guidelines, citizens were not allowed to possess an overseas entity before 2003. The central bank allowed individuals to remit funds of up to $25,000 a year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) a year later I 2004.

    In 2013, individuals were allowed to set up subsidiaries or invest in joint ventures abroad under the Overseas Direct Investment window. But the newspaper’s investigation claims that most of the offshore accounts set up by Indians identified in the list were done before 2013, which could render them illegal.

    Not just individuals, a close scrutiny of The Panama Papers also reveals details of hitherto unknown deals, in some cases involving the government, too,” Indian Express further revealed in its investigative report.

    Note: The information in this report has been sourced from The Indian Express, The Times of India, The Wire, and NDTV

     

  • Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan amongst 500 Indians named in Panama Papers; Modi calls for a multi- agency probe

    Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan amongst 500 Indians named in Panama Papers; Modi calls for a multi- agency probe

    MUMBAI: In a shocking revelation, popular Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan and his daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have been identified amongst 500 Indians with secret offshore accounts.

    Apart from the Bachchans, several business tycoons and industrialists’ names have also come up in the list including DLF promoter K P Singh and Indiabulls promoter Sameer Gehlaut, family members of the promoters of Apollo Tyres and a number of politicians.

    Two politicians who figure on the list are Shishir Bajoria from West Bengal and Anurag Kejriwal, the former chief of the Delhi unit of Loksatta Party, an Indian Express report read.

    According to latest update on the development, PM Modi has welcomed this investigation that is being termed by the media as the ‘greatest leak’ so far. Taking matters into hand, the government has  ordered a multi-agency team to investigate the 500 Indians, who were named in the Panama Paper.

    The team comprising of experts on tax and foreign exchange transactions, will work with financial crime-fighting agencies to investigate ‘the flow of information in each one of the cases.’

    This revelation comes as part of a new data leak  from an anonymous source through German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung which was later shared globally by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). In India, one of the leading dailies, The Indian Express was a part of the investigation. Together the media groups have investigated a massive leak of 11.5 million documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama based law firm.    According to the records, the listed individuals who have paid the firm for a secretive, lax regulatory system that helped them to set up offshore entities in tax havens around the world.

    ‘Amitabh Bachchan was appointed director in at least four offshore shipping companies set up in 1993. Similarly, Aishwarya Rai and her family members were registered in 2005 as directors of Amic Partners Limited. Her status was later changed to share holder before the company was dissolved in 2008. DLF promoters KP Singh acquired a company registered in British Virgin Islands in 2010. His family’s three offshore entities hold almost $10 million,’ the report further stated.

    While owning offshore funds by itself isn’t illegal, as per the Reserve Bank of India guidelines, citizens were not allowed to possess an overseas entity before 2003. The central bank allowed individuals to remit funds of up to $25,000 a year under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) a year later I 2004.

    In 2013, individuals were allowed to set up subsidiaries or invest in joint ventures abroad under the Overseas Direct Investment window. But the newspaper’s investigation claims that most of the offshore accounts set up by Indians identified in the list were done before 2013, which could render them illegal.

    Not just individuals, a close scrutiny of The Panama Papers also reveals details of hitherto unknown deals, in some cases involving the government, too,” Indian Express further revealed in its investigative report.

    Note: The information in this report has been sourced from The Indian Express, The Times of India, The Wire, and NDTV

     

  • Ki &Ka…..And not much else!

    Ki &Ka…..And not much else!

    MUMBAI: R Balki is known for bringing films way out of the ordinary formula framework. The good thing about him is his sincerity and dedication because of which he gets popular artistes to work in his films. This is a must for a maker’s film to be noticed, however good his theme may be. This time, Balki decides to trade roles between a man and a woman, both well educated. While the girl is well-placed professionally and has further ambitions, the boy hails from a huge realty developer family and shuns his family business.

    Arjun Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor are on a flight from Chandigarh to Delhi, sharing the same row with the middle seat being vacant. As soon as the flight takes off, Arjun gets emotional and starts crying. He remembers how his late mother used to clutch his hands tightly while flying because she was scared of flying and today happens to be her birthday. Kareena is told the cause. Both start getting familiar.

    Arjun is a topper in IIM as all film heroes are; before the IIM era, they used to stand ‘First Class First’. He is the only son of the biggest builder in Delhi. However, instead of following his father and inheriting his construction empire, he wants to emulate his mother whom he describes as an artist. His mother ran the household, cooked and that was her art.

    Kareena, on the other hand, is an executive on the corporate ladder always aiming at the next rung. Her mother, SwaroopSampat, a widow, is a social worker with an open mind.

    Arjun and Kareena are drawn to each other and realize they are in love. They decide to marry. Arjun’s father is not in favour of the marriage, while Swaroop blesses the couple. A deal is made. While Kareena will continue with pursuing her career, Arjun will manage the household, cooking and looking after both, Kareena and Swaroop.

    This has turned out to be a life changer for all the three concerned. Arjun keeps the house, cooks, cleans, shops and generally does everything a housewife does including attending kitty parties with other housewives. Of course, he is the life of these kitty parties.

    Kareena earns a promotion and as a result, media attention. She is all over the print and electronic media. Here, she is led to talk about her husband, Arjun, and what he does. Media attention turns to Arjun, as a man who runs the household. Overnight, he is a celebrity, on talk shows, on cookery shows, just about everywhere. His TRP rates much above that of Kareena.

    Jealousy replaces love. Kareena feels deceived and assumes that despite being the scion of a billionaire builder, he wants to live off her! Her tirade looks rather forced and unconvincing. Her venting her anger sans logic, looks silly. But, then, the couple’s love has survived by saying sorry multiple times. It is not going to be different on this occasion. Predictably, Arjun’s big-shot father too realizes the value of having a family.

    Meanwhile, Jaya Bachchan has watched Arjun talking on TV and is mighty impressed. She calls him over for dinner with Amitabh Bachchan present. What was this sequence about? It is inconclusive despite both debating Arjun’s way of life.

    Balki may have tried a new story but the content ispredictable. The story lacks twists and turns and efforts are made to make it a light entertainer towards which end it works in parts. Direction is fair to say that it skips melodrama for most part, and sticks to linear treatment. The film finds no slots for music.

    Although just 126 minute in length,the film surely needs some trimming. The cinematography is pleasant. The Arjun and Kareena match does not quite jell despite their age difference having been made clear in thenarration. Arjun is okay while Kareena looks good with no major scenes to steal. Swaroop provides an excellent foil to the two.

    Ki &Ka is a slow opener and carries a very limited appeal for a section of the audience and the compulsive moviegoer types.

    Producers: Sunil Lulla, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, R K Damani, R Balki.
    Director: R Balki.

    Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, SwaroopSampat, Rajit Kapoor and cameos by Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan.

     

  • Ki &Ka…..And not much else!

    Ki &Ka…..And not much else!

    MUMBAI: R Balki is known for bringing films way out of the ordinary formula framework. The good thing about him is his sincerity and dedication because of which he gets popular artistes to work in his films. This is a must for a maker’s film to be noticed, however good his theme may be. This time, Balki decides to trade roles between a man and a woman, both well educated. While the girl is well-placed professionally and has further ambitions, the boy hails from a huge realty developer family and shuns his family business.

    Arjun Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor are on a flight from Chandigarh to Delhi, sharing the same row with the middle seat being vacant. As soon as the flight takes off, Arjun gets emotional and starts crying. He remembers how his late mother used to clutch his hands tightly while flying because she was scared of flying and today happens to be her birthday. Kareena is told the cause. Both start getting familiar.

    Arjun is a topper in IIM as all film heroes are; before the IIM era, they used to stand ‘First Class First’. He is the only son of the biggest builder in Delhi. However, instead of following his father and inheriting his construction empire, he wants to emulate his mother whom he describes as an artist. His mother ran the household, cooked and that was her art.

    Kareena, on the other hand, is an executive on the corporate ladder always aiming at the next rung. Her mother, SwaroopSampat, a widow, is a social worker with an open mind.

    Arjun and Kareena are drawn to each other and realize they are in love. They decide to marry. Arjun’s father is not in favour of the marriage, while Swaroop blesses the couple. A deal is made. While Kareena will continue with pursuing her career, Arjun will manage the household, cooking and looking after both, Kareena and Swaroop.

    This has turned out to be a life changer for all the three concerned. Arjun keeps the house, cooks, cleans, shops and generally does everything a housewife does including attending kitty parties with other housewives. Of course, he is the life of these kitty parties.

    Kareena earns a promotion and as a result, media attention. She is all over the print and electronic media. Here, she is led to talk about her husband, Arjun, and what he does. Media attention turns to Arjun, as a man who runs the household. Overnight, he is a celebrity, on talk shows, on cookery shows, just about everywhere. His TRP rates much above that of Kareena.

    Jealousy replaces love. Kareena feels deceived and assumes that despite being the scion of a billionaire builder, he wants to live off her! Her tirade looks rather forced and unconvincing. Her venting her anger sans logic, looks silly. But, then, the couple’s love has survived by saying sorry multiple times. It is not going to be different on this occasion. Predictably, Arjun’s big-shot father too realizes the value of having a family.

    Meanwhile, Jaya Bachchan has watched Arjun talking on TV and is mighty impressed. She calls him over for dinner with Amitabh Bachchan present. What was this sequence about? It is inconclusive despite both debating Arjun’s way of life.

    Balki may have tried a new story but the content ispredictable. The story lacks twists and turns and efforts are made to make it a light entertainer towards which end it works in parts. Direction is fair to say that it skips melodrama for most part, and sticks to linear treatment. The film finds no slots for music.

    Although just 126 minute in length,the film surely needs some trimming. The cinematography is pleasant. The Arjun and Kareena match does not quite jell despite their age difference having been made clear in thenarration. Arjun is okay while Kareena looks good with no major scenes to steal. Swaroop provides an excellent foil to the two.

    Ki &Ka is a slow opener and carries a very limited appeal for a section of the audience and the compulsive moviegoer types.

    Producers: Sunil Lulla, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, R K Damani, R Balki.
    Director: R Balki.

    Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, SwaroopSampat, Rajit Kapoor and cameos by Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan.

     

  • 63rd National Film Awards: ‘Baahubali’ is best film;’Bajirao Mastani’ bags largest number of awards for 2015

    63rd National Film Awards: ‘Baahubali’ is best film;’Bajirao Mastani’ bags largest number of awards for 2015

    New Delhi, 28 March: ‘Baahubali – The Beginning’ by S S Rajamouli, arguably the most expensive film ever made in India, today bagged the Best Film award for 2015, while megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Kangana Ranaut won awards for best artistes for ‘Piku’ and ‘Tanu weds Manu Returns’.‘Bajirao Mastani; bagged the largest number of awards with Sanjay Leela Bhansali getting the best director for the film at the 63rd National Film Awards for 2015, which will be presented on 3 May. ‘Baahubali – The Beginning’ also got the special effects award for V Srinivas Mohan.

    The Feature Film Central panel was headed by Ramesh Sippy, and comprised of 11 members including the chairman. The-Non Feature jury was headed by Vinod Ganatra and comprised seven members including the chairman. The jury on Best Writing on Cinema was headed by Advaita Kala and comprised three members including the chairperson.
    Prior to the announcement of the awards, the chairpersons of the three juries and members of the jury presented their reports to Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley. MoS Rajyavardhan Rathore and secretary Sunil Arora were also present. Jaitley appreciated the efforts put in by the jury members in deciding the awards in various categories which reflected the diversity of India’s cinematic brilliance and diversity.

    Awards list in brief

    Interestingly, the highly acclaimed and internationally applauded film ‘Masaan’ only received theIndira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director for Neeraj Ghaywan.

    Contrary to expectations, Tanvi Azmi bagged the supporting actress award for ‘Bajirao Mastani’ (as the names Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra were also doing the rounds), while Samuthirakani got this award for the film ‘Visaaranai’, which also received the best Tamil Film and Best Editing awards (late Kishore T.E). Gaurav Menon was named best child artiste for ‘Ben’. Kalki Koelchin got a Special Jury Award for ‘Margarita with a straw’.

    ‘Bajirao Rao Mastani’ also won awards for Best choreography by Remo D’Souza for the song ‘Deewani Mastani’, Best Cinematography Sudeep Chaterjee, best sound design by Biswajit Chatterjee, re-recording of final mixed track by Justin Ghose, and best production design by Shriram Iyengar, Saloni Dhatrak and Sujeet Sawant.

    The Salman Khan-starrer ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ by Kabir Khan was named for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, while the best Hindi Film award was given to ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha.’

    Also interestingly, apart from the top actor awards, ‘Piku’ and ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ also bagged awards for both original screenplay and dialogues for Juhi Chaturvedi (Piku) and Himanshu Sharma (Tanu Weds Manu Returns) respectively. The renowned director Vishal Bhardwaj received the best adapted screenplay accolades for the crime drama ‘Talvar’ inspired by a real-life case.

    This is the fourth time that Bachchan, who entered the film industry in the late sixties, has won a national award. He had earlier bagged the award for ‘Agneepath’ in 1990, ‘Black’ in 2005 and ‘Paa’ in 2009.

    Ranaut earlier won the best actress award for ‘Queen’ and a supporting actor award for ‘Fashion’.

    The Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration went to ‘Nanak Shah Fakir’ which also bagged the awards for Best Costume Designer for Payal Sajula and Best Make-up Artist to Preetisheel G Singh and Clover Wootton for film ‘Nanak Shah Fakir’ by Gurbani Media Pvt. Ltd.

    The award for best film on Social Issues went to ‘Niranayakam’ by V K Prakash, the Environment Conservation/Preservation award went to ‘Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal’ by Dr Biju, and ‘Duronto’ Soumendra Padhi got the best Children’s Film. There was a special mention for Ritika Singh for the film ‘Irudhi Suttru’.

    The award for best female playback went to Monali Thakur for the song ‘Moh Moh Ke Dhaage’ in ‘Dum Lagaa ke Haisha’ and Mahesh Kale won the male playback for ‘Katyar Kalijat Ghusli’.

    The veteran Ilaiyaraaja got the Direction – Background Score award for ‘Thaarai Thappattai’ while M Jayachandran won the best Music Direction award for the song ‘Kaathirunnu Kaathirunnu’ in the film ‘Ennu Ninte Moideen’.

    The best non-feature award went to Amdavad Ma Famous by Hardik Mehta. The best book on cinema book award went to Dr. Rajakumar Samagra Charithre by Doddahulluru Rukkoji and the best film critic award to Meghachandra Kongbam of Manipur.