While the Big Star Awards kicked off award season in Bollywood of 2014, they haven’t snatched the spotlight away from the Screen Awards. The most-awaited award shows from B-town comprise a prominent and well-selected jury. As the audiences are eagerly gearing up for a star-studded evening, the Life Ok Screen Awards announced its list of nominations and jury panel on January 7 among a host of film and television celebrities, reports ibnlive.com.
According to Television Post, the jury list includes renowned celebrities from both the Hindi and Marathi film fraternity, as usual. This year’s list of nominees comprises Govind Nihalani, Atul Agnihotri, Homi Adajania, John Matthew Mathan, Moushumi Chatterji, Prosenjit, Sonali Kulkarni, Rahul Dholakia, Kiran Shantaram, Sriram Raghavan, Umesh Shukla, Shreyas Talpade, Sam Balsara and Tarun Katial amongst others.
The event will be premiered on Life Ok channel on January 25 and promises to have a lot in store for its viewers, including gimmicks of none other than Bollywood king Shahrukh Khan who will be hosting the show. With the who’s who of Bollywood competing with each other this year, here is our lowdown on some of the popular nominees:
Best Film
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Kai Po Che
Madras Café
Ram-Leela
The Lunchbox
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Our Verdict: Considering the reviews and ratings, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is likely to bag this one on the basis of its patriotic storyline. However, we feel Kai Po Che will be an underdog to watch out for.
Best Actor (Male)
Aamir Khan — Dhoom: 3
Dhanush — Raanjhanaa
Farhan Akhtar — Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Irrfan Khan — The Lunchbox
Ranbir Kapoor — Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Rajkummar Rao — Shahid
Shah Rukh Khan — Chennai Express
Our Verdict: Any win other than Farhan Akhtar from this list will undoubtedly be a shocker!
Best Actor (Female)
Chitrangada Singh — Inkaar
Deepika Padukone — Ram-Leela/Chennai Express
Nimrat Kaur — The Lunchbox
Parineeti Chopra — Shuddh Desi Romance
Shraddha Kapoor — Aashiqui 2
Sonakshi Sinha — Lootera
Our Verdict: Deepika Padukone for Ram-Leela hands down! Her impeccable performance not only wooed fans but also stunned critics, who showered her with constant praise.
Best Director
Abhishek Kapoor — Kai Po Che
Ayan Mukherji — Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
Hansal Mehta — Shahid
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra — Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Rakesh Roshan — Krrish 3
Sanjay Leela Bhansali — Ram-Leela
Shoojit Sircar — Madras Café
Our Verdict: If there is anyone who deserves this the most, it’s Abhishek Kapoor for Kai Po Che. The man deserves credit for making an outstanding emotional film with three complete newbies.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)
Amit Sadh — Kai Po Che
Anupam Kher — Special 26
Jimmy Shergill — Bullett Raja
Nawazuddin Siddiqui — The Lunchbox
Saurabh Shukla — Jolly LLB
Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub — Raanjhanaa
Our Verdict: This one is rather tricky and we are torn between Anupam Kher and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. However, considering the Oscar rave behind The Lunchbox, this one is likely to land in Siddiqui’s pocket.
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female)
Divya Dutta — Gippi
Huma Qureshi — Ek Thi Daayan
Kalki Koechlin — Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani
Richa Chadda — Ram-Leela
Swara Bhaskar — Raanjhanaa
Our Verdict: Based on popularity and success, this is Kalki’s win, but if the role and character is a deciding factor, Richa Chadda is also a possible winner.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2014.
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