BackThe Bollywood prize
The Bollywood prize
PremiumThe winners take it all: Vidya Balan with her Filmfare statuette for Best Actress. PTI.
The latest awards season has been as predictable as Rahul Gandhi’s polling speeches. The Oscars are a bit of a toss-up this year, but its local versions, like Screen and Filmfare, have thrown up almost no surprises. Guessing the names of the Best Actor and Best Actress in Hindi cinema for 2011 proved to be easier than answering a Kaun Banega Crorepati entry-level question. Ranbir Kapoor and Vidya Balan must have had their acceptance speeches ready in December itself, along with their list of thank yous and costumes and matching accessories.
The need to put on a good show for the eventual television broadcast results in the gongs being evenly distributed among the crowd-pleasing films of the year. The net is cast wider by creating a “critics’ choice" category (which usually ensures that two films are named Picture of the Year), reserving prizes for best debutants, and creating random categories like “Best Ensemble Cast" (at Screen) and “Scene of the Year" (Filmfare). Yet most of the categories are imported from the Oscars. It’s time we created categories that reflect the uniqueness of Hindi cinema. No other country will hand out Best Choreography and Best Playback prizes, but there isn’t yet a separate award for “song picturization", a phrase and a skill unique to popular Hindi cinema. The shooting of a song is a joint effort that involves the collective talent of the film-maker, music composer, choreographer, actors, art director and production assistants. If such a category were to be created for 2011, Excel Entertainment would win it hands down for the song Ik Junoon in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, which recreates the La Tomatina festival in sensuous slow motion.
There’s yet another award category waiting to be created and as of now, there is only one winner. The Best Presenter gong can be given without any debate to Shah Rukh Khan. No other actor in the industry has Khan’s gift for seemingly unrehearsed and often acerbic wit. His onstage ability to interrupt the fake solemnity of award ceremonies with off-colour jokes and flirt with women of all ages has rarely been exploited by his directors. Khan didn’t take home a Best Actor trophy for Don 2, but we can think of one award that is rightfully his—and will be for many years to come.
Nandini Ramnath is the film critic of Time Out Mumbai (www.timeoutmumbai.net).
Write to Nandini at stallorder@livemint.com
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