2006 hailed as ‘year for Indian cinema’

Thousands of fans turned out to cheer the top brass of the Bollywood film industry at this year’s International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards.

Director Rakesh Mehra hailed 2006 as a “ truly fabulous year.”

“2006 has been a landmark year for Indian cinema and this award is much more special when you know it is among great films,” said Mehra.

“2006 belongs to a changing time in Indian cinema,” he told an audience of 12,000 at the award ceremony in Sheffield’s town hall.

Rang De Basanti, starring Alice Patten, the daughter of Britain’s last governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, had entered the evening with 15 nominations, including Aamir Khan for best actor.

The politically-charged film portrays a film-maker trying to produce a movie about an uprising about British colonial rule in the early 1920s and 1930s.

The IIFA awards, known as Bollywood’s answer to the Oscars, are given out in a different venue each year in an attempt to increase publicity for India’s bustling film industry.

Celebrities from the world of film and television gathered for the international event in Sheffield and other towns and cities across the northern county of Yorkshire, bringing some glamour, but also considerable financial benefit to the region where many British Asians live.

About 10 percent of income for Bollywood films comes from outside India and Pakistan, while Britain is the second-biggest market for Indian films.

Referring to Hollywood’s global success, leading actor and film-maker Abhishek Bachchan said: “If Hollywood can do it, why shouldn’t we?”

The top Indian actor described the reception by fans, and the 30,000 people who flocked to Yorkshire for the event, as “really overwhelming.”

His wife, former Miss World and actress Aishwarya Rai, added: “We reciprocate the love right back.”

Shilpa Shetty, star of the evening in a glittering emerald gown, failed to be commended for any of her cinema roles, but received a special award for the courage and dignity with which she handled the notorious race row on Britain’s Big Brother Celebrity show in January.

In line with the current topicality of the environmental debate, organizers at the Sheffield ceremony Saturday night laid out a green carpet — instead of the more usual red.

Events held across Yorkshire to build up awareness for Indian film are expected to generate 10 million pounds (US$19.9 million) for the region, organizers said.

Shetty said raising awareness about climate change was especially important as India’s economy develops rapidly.

“India can be a very important hand globally in this issue,” she said.

During the ceremony, which finished in the early hours of Sunday, Shetty performed a medley of Bollywood hits.

Rang De Basanti, a film about a group of disillusioned Indian youths who turn patriotic, won five awards including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress and Best Musical Direction.

Fans voted for the winners from a short-list chosen by the Hindi-language film industry’s experts.

Hrithik Roshan received the Best Actor award for his portrayal of a superhero in Krrish, or There’s No one Like You.

As he collected the prize, he said: “May our children never be afraid to dream the impossible because if someone like me can get this far, nothing is impossible.”

Best Actress was Rani Mukherji for Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, or Never Say Goodbye, about infidelity and troubled marriages.

Musical comedy Lage Raho Munnabhai won Rajkumar Hirani the best director award, beating director Vishal Bhardwaj.

Bhardwaj was given a special honor for best adaptation for Omkara, his take on Shakespeare’s Othello.

It was the second in a trilogy adapting the bard’s works, following 2003 hit Maqbool, based on Macbeth.

The ceremony was held before 12,000 people, while also attracting a global TV audience of more than 500 million people in 110 countries.

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