Megastar Monday – Hooray for Bollywood! 61st Annual Filmfare Awards
February 1, 2016
The 61st Filmfare Awards were presented on January 15 at the Yash Raj Studio in Mumbai, India. The awards are presented annually for artistic and technical excellence in filmmaking in the Hindi language. Filmfare Awards are announced for motion pictures made during the previous year. The Filmfare Awards have often been referred to as the Hindi film industry’s equivalent of the Academy Awards. The Academy Awards are the best-known film awards and are presented annually in Hollywood. The name for the motion-picture industry in India is Bollywood. Although many of the faces on the Filmfare Awards stage may not be familiar to most American audience members, Bollywood actors are among the most famous and most-recognized megastars in the world.
Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, and Privanka Chopra, left to right, star in the Indian epic historical romance Bajirao Mastani, The film won nine Filmfare Awards in 2016. Credit: © SLB Films
The epic historical romance Bajirao Mastani, one of the highest grossing Indian films of all time, dominated the night with nine awards. Based on the Marathi novel Raau by Nagnath S. Inamdar, the film tells the story of the Maratha Peshwa Bajirao (1700-1740) and his Muslim wife Mastani. Marathas are Hindu people who live in the central and southwestern parts of India. Bajirao Mastani won for best film, and its director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, won for best director. Ranveer Singh won for best actor and Priyanka Chopra won for best supporting actress in that film. Chopra may be familiar to American television audiences for her portrayal of Alex Parrish, an FBI recruit who is suspected of a terrorist attack, in the popular ABC crime drama Quantico. Shreya Ghoshal won for best female playback singer for the song “Deewani Mastani” in Bajirao Mastani. A playback singer is someone whose voice is used in a movie in place of that of the actor or actress. Bajirao Mastani also won for best costume, best choreography, best production design, and best action.
The cross-generational hit comedy Piku was the night’s other big winner with five awards. Deepika Padukone, who was also the female lead in Bajirao Mastani, won for best actress in Piku. In that film, Padukone plays the daughter of a grumpy father, portrayed by Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, who won the critics award for best actor for his role. Piku also won for best background score and best screenplay, as well as the critics award for best film. Anil Kapoor won for best supporting actor for his performance in the romantic drama Dil Dhadakne Do.
The Indian magazine Filmfare presents the awards. Filmfare is an English-language magazine about Indian cinema. It is the oldest film magazine in India. Winners of a Filmfare Award receive a black statue, generally made of bronze, depicting a woman with her arms raised in a traditional Indian dance pose.
The Filmfare Awards were first presented in 1954. Filmfare Awards South are the South Indian version of the Filmfare Awards. These awards are presented annually for movies in the Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu languages. Filmfare Awards South are also presented by Filmfare and were first awarded in 1954. The first Filmfare Awards East were presented in 2014. These awards recognize movies in the Assamese, Bengali, and Odia languages.
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