Filmfare Awards: Winners and the unlucky

All the glory and success that Bollywood garnered in 2007 were honored officially for one last time as the Filmfare Awards were announced. The competition this time was the closest that we have witnessed in a long time, with three films, Taare Zameen Par, Chak De India and Guru taking the fight all the way down to the wire. But there can be only one winner and while it may seem unfair that the other superlative efforts which would have normally walked away with a dozen awards in other ordinary years were confined to applauding to the winner - that quite clearly sums up the standards that have been raised and set in a year of excellence.

The winners

1. Best Film: Taare Zameen Par
2. Best Actor: Shah Rukh Khan (Chak De India)
3. Best Actress: Kareena Kapoor (Jab We Met)
4. Best Director: Aamir Khan (Taare Zameen Par)
5. Best Story: Amol Gupte (Taare Zameen Par)
6. Best Screenplay: Anurag Basu (Life in a….. Metro)
7. Best Dialogue: Imtiaz Ali (Jab We Met)
8. Best Supporting Actor : Irffan Khan (Life in a… Metro)
9. Best Supporting Actress: Konkana Sen Sharma (Life in a… Metro)
10. Best Music: A.R. Rahman (Guru)
11. Best BGM: A.R.Rahman (Guru)
12. Best Debut Male: Ranbir Kapoor (Saawariya)
13. Best Debut Female: Deepika Padukone (Om Shanthi Om)
14. Best Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi (Maa… Taare Zameen Par)
15. Best Art Director: Sameer Chanda(Guru)

Special Mentions:

1. Critics Award for Best Actor: Darsheel Zaffary (Taare Zameen Par)
2. Critics Award for Best Actress: Tabu (Cheeni Kum)
3. Critics Award for best film: Chak De India

Comments:

One cannot but feel sorry for Chak De India and Guru which deserved many more honors but were outclassed by Taare Zameen Par. Guru in particular seemed sidelined, more so because it has been such a long time since its release, Rahman’s music being good enough to hold fort for more than a year. Abhishek Bachchan must be feeling a bit unlucky after turning out the best performance of his career. Meanwhile, Saawariya which was widely touted to be the only real contender for best art direction was beaten by Samir Chanda’s simple yet effective work for Guru. Best Debut male was just a formality, there was just one real runner in the race but somehow one gets a feeling that Neil Nithin Mukesh should have received some mention for his performance in Johnny Gaddar. It also comes to mind that some daringly different unconventional cinema like Bheja Fry and Loins of Punjab went without mention; maybe it is time to consider an awards category for ‘niche’ cinema. Maybe a ‘best comeback star’ award too may be a good addition if veterans begin to make comebacks like the one Dharmendra made this year with Johnny Gaddar, Apnay and Life in a …. Metro. And don’t forget to note that Darsheel Zaafarry got the critics award for the best actor, not best child artiste. Overall a great way to cap off one of the best years in the decade for Bollywood. The night clearly belonged to Taare Zameen Par while others made glittering special appearances. Wishing for an equally good or an even better 2008.