Black: The Filmfares Get it Right… Sometimes
The 51st annual Filmfare Awards, “India’s Oscars”, just concluded and I normally abhor these- goes back to 1996 when Raja Hindustani inexplicably beat out the brilliant Rangeela.
This year, however, they have regained my respect, with one of my favorite films of the year winning almost every major award. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s incomparable Black won:
- Best Actor- Amitabh Bachchan
- Best Actress- Rani Mukherjee
- Best Director- Sanjay Leela Bhansali
- Best Film- Black
- Best Supporting Actress- Ayesha Kapoor
In addition to these, Black also picked up Cinematography, Background Score and Editing. Also, Vidya Balan won Best Debut (Actress) for Parineeta, which was a great pick. It has been 10 years since I wrote a heated letter to Khaled Mohammed, the editor of Filmfare, about the travesties that were the ‘96 awards- but they have regained my repect now.
