The HHITA awards ceremony was impressive in its turnout, but the show was not without its pitfalls
Monday night, there were only two places you could find television stars – on your television, and at the 5th annual Hero Honda Indian Television Academy awards that were held at the Bhavan's Cultural Ground, Andheri. Togged up in designer wear, and looking just about as glamourous, the TV actors proved they were no less than the film-stars in the way of star power.
We spotted Shweta Kawatra sulking for reasons best known to her. Shama Sikander's grand entrance worked – the audience sat up and noticed her. Dressed in a Ritu Kumar outfit, she looked absolutely stunning. As far as the men go, Shabbir Ahluwalia looked oh-so-cool in a white suit. We thought of congratulating Mona Singh. Not because of the award she won but because she looked slimmer than her usual self. Her diet plan must work after all! On the 'weight' issue, we can't ignore Smriti Irani. The actress-cum-politician ditched her typical Gujarati look for a change. And we think she looked quite nice.
But although our eyes scanned the aisles for sauntering celebrities, what they were wearing, and who they were with, we also kept an eye out for who was seated next to whom. Our verdict: the organisers could have been more attentive to the seating arrangement –- it was a complete disaster. A couple of known names like Chetan Hansraj and a large part of the Balaji camp were made to sit at the back with the audiences, while the likes of Dolly Bindra occupied front row seats. Such errors truly show Shashi and Anu Ranjan (founders of the ITA) in a bad light. Then there was a mini melee as czarina Ekta Kapoor, Tarun Katial and Shailaja Kejriwal made their grand entry. Errand boys and security personnel ran every which way…
But once the star dust settled down, and the show began, we had even less to applaud at. The performances of most actors were below average. Except for Shweta Tiwari's 'Kajra re'... act. It was refreshing to see an otherwise inhibited Ronit Roy dancing on the lines of Amitabh Bachchan on the Bunty Aur Babli track. But the shocker of the evening was when Ms Tiwari lost her balance and slipped on stage while dancing. Although the wind was knocked out of her, she was helped back up by the Roy brothers (Ronit and Rohit), and the dance resumed…although Tiwari had a flushed look on her face throughout.
Then the awards were brought out to distribute. And like at any other awards, you tend to appreciate the choice of a given person for a given award, and wonder at the choice of another… I notice that Jeetendra has become a fixture on the recipient list at almost every television award ceremony; what I can't imagine is, considering his huge contribution to Hindi cinema, shouldn't he be felicitated at these ceremonies instead? Isn't television, his darling daughter Ekta's domain?
'Unimpressive' is the only way to describe the evening. Both Shashi and Anu Ranjan could have done a better job. We seriously hope to see a better show next year.
THE WINNERS ARE...
• Best Actor in popular category: Hiten Tejwani (Kyunki...)
• Best Actress in popular category: Smriti Irani (Kyunki...)
• Best Serial in popular category: Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi
• Best Actress Drama: Mona Singh (Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi)
• Best Actor Drama: Varun Badola (Astitiva)
• Best Actor Comedy: Satish Shah (Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai)
• Best Actress Comedy: Ratna Pathak Shah (Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai)
• Best Actor in negative role: Makarand Deshpande (CID-Maneater)
• Best Actress in negative role: Sudha Chandran (Prratima)
• Gr8 Newcomer (male): Karan Wahi (Remix)
• Gr8 Newcomer: Mona Wasu (Millee)
• The Hero Honda Glamour award: Natassha (Kavyanjali)
• Best Actor in supporting role: Shabbir Ahluwalia (Kahin To Hoga)
• Best Actress in supporting role: Shilpa Saklani (Kyunki...)
Shiv Shakti
