Amitabh bags best actor at Apsara awards

Amitabh bags best actor at Apsara awards

MUMBAI: It is the awards season in Bollywood, and superstar Amitabh Bachchan is the hot favourite.

Hot on the heels of winning the STAR Screen best actor award, Amitabh has bagged the best actor award at the Apsara awards in Mumbai.

Amitabh was given the award for his performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Black" at a function held at the NCPA Bhabha Auditorium here on Saturday.

Rani Mukherji walked away with the best actress award and Bhansali the best director award for "Black" at the 2nd Apsara Film and Television Producers Guild Awards.

"Black", which won 10 awards, was adjudged the best film and nominated in 11 categories. The awards are instituted by the Producers' Guild of India to celebrate excellence in the television and film industry.

Ayesha Kapoor, who played young Rani Mukherji in "Black", bagged the best supporting actress and Abhishek Bachchan the best supporting actor award for his role in "Yuva".

Director Shaad Ali's "Bunty Aur Bubli" won four awards. Three of the awards were for the hit item song "Kajra re" picturised on Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh and Abhishek.

Gulzar won the award for best lyrics for the song; Alisha Chinai was adjudged the best female singer and Vaibhavi Merchant the best choreographer for the same song.

Shankar Ehsan Loy received the best music director award for the film.

Director Nagesh Kukunoor bagged the best story award for his highly lauded film "Iqbal" that tells the story of a dumb and mute boy who aspires to play cricket.

Vidya Balan bagged the best outstanding debut award for "Parineeta". She had won in the same category for "Parineeta" at the STAR Screen awards.

Documentary filmmaker Rakesh Sharma's "Final Solutions" got the best documentary award.

This is the first Indian honour to the film, which has been showcased at more than 80 film festivals across the globe and has won around 20 international awards. The film, dubbed in Gujarati, is slated to hit the screens soon.

In the television section, the series "Astitva... Ek Prem Kahani" was adjudged the best drama and its lead actors Niki Aneja Walia and Vaurn Badola bagged the best actress and best actor awards respectively.

Well-known journalist Barkha Dutt, working with NDTV, won the best anchor award beating Rajdeep Sardesai, who recently left NDTV to form his own company, Vikram Chandra and Sonia Chander of NDTV and Shekhar Suman of BAG Films.

Prannoy Roy, chairman of NDTV, was honoured for his outstanding contribution to TV.