High-octane dancing, lyrical prose and of course Shah Rukh Khan transforming the awards night into a classic Bollywood affair... That's the Zee Cine Awards for you.
The 2008 Zee Cine Awards ceremony held in London last week was a strong testimonial to the popularity and invincibility of Shah Rukh Khan. Even the Beckhams of Bollywood (the joined-at-the-hip Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor) could not steal the limelight from King Khan.
Uttering his name alone brought forth deafening cheers from the thousands of Bollywood buffs who had come to watch SRK spin his magic.
What's more, his acceptance speech after winning the Best Actor award for Chak De! India raised the hysteria-factor even more. "London is one of my favourite places and it is the overseas fans who have made me the star I am today," said Khan.
Another star who was waxing lyrical about London was Shilpa Shetty. Clad in a stunning white Roberto Cavalli gown, Shetty was the epitome of grace while accepting the Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) award for her film Life ... In A Metro.
Floating on the red-carpet with UK-based entrepreneur Raj Kundra, she said London had transformed her life in more ways than one!
"London is really, really lucky for me," gushed a teary-eyed Shetty. But the one who stole the show with her words was Kareena Kapoor. Her thank you note after winning the Best Actor Award (Female) for the movie Jab We Met did not involve London-lore.
Uttering the name of her ex, Shahid Kapur, and praising him for being instrumental for her brilliant performance, in her rather succinct thank-you list, was a punch that did not go unnoticed.
Two's company
Having said that, Kareena and her new boyfriend Saif Ali Khan made no bones about being the passionate and in-love couple. Hand-in-hand, they were plastered to each other at every given opportunity.
Another couple who unleashed a flash-bulb blitzkrieg was the young and in-love couple Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. The night proved lucky for both as they walked home with the Best Debutante awards.
Ironically, Ranbir Kapoor gave the hosts Sajjid Khan and Karan Johar much to laugh about. Asked in a mock-quiz round with celebrities whether he found Bipasha Basu sexier than his current flame Deepika, he seemed torn between keeping his girlfriend happy and blurting out the unadulterated truth. In the end, a feeble attempt at naming Deepika did the round no justice.
Kat got the cream
Another lady who scored high on the popularity scale was London born Katrina Kaif. At ease on her home turf, she sashayed away with the British Indian Actor of the Year award saying, "I have found my home in India."
Reflected glory
Fardeen Khan may not have featured on the nominations list. But his jubilant face as he arrived with his wife to the awards made us journos wonder whether we had missed out on something. And sure enough, when he was called to the stage to present the Lifetime Achievement Awards to his father Feroze Khan it was an emotional father-son moment, in true Bollywood format.
"This is one of the best moments in my life," said an emotionally-charged Khan Jr.
Celeb spotting
Like any award ceremony, ZCA 2008 had its fair share of glitterati. Actors including Karisma Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, Sanjay Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Dia Mirza and many more wore their designer best for the event.
Bollywood sans songs? No way ...
It was a first for Vidya Balan. She chose this event to showcase her dancing skills at an award ceremony by dancing to her hit numbers. This was topped up by raunchy numbers from Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan.
The grand finale
Ganesh Hegde, the choreographer of ZCA 2008, chose the title track of Om Shanti Om to call the performers onto the common platform. No prizes for guessing that it was led by none other than Shah Rukh Khan.
TOP HONOURS
- Best Actor (Male): Shah Rukh Khan for Chak De! India
- Best Actor (Female): Kareena Kapoor for Jab We Met
- Best Film: Chak De! India
- Best Director: Aamir Khan for Taare Zameen Par
- Catch the rest on Zee TV on May 17 at 8pm
