The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) recently announced the awards in the Technical category.

And no prizes for guessing the winners as it were the regular suspects who walked home with the prestigious honors. The winners included superhit like Chak De India (five awards) and Om Shanti Om (four awards). While Chak De India bagged the awards in Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound Recording, Best Sound Re-recording, Best Screenplay (shared it with Life in a Metro), Om Shanti Om got it for Best Art Direction, Best Special Effects, Best Costume designing and Best Makeup.

The choreography award has gone to Vaibhavi Merchant for Aaja, while Javed Sheikh & Ejaz Sheikh won the best action award for the movie Shootout at Lokhandwala.

The Award for Best Sound Recording went to H. Sridhar for Guru, while A. R. Rahman won the Idea IIFA Award for Best Background Score for the movie Guru. Imtiaz Ali won the IIFA for Best Dialogue for Jab We Met.

The prestigious IIFA awards are to be held Bangkok, from June 6 -8 ‘08.

The gargantuan night of glamour took place at the Excel Docklands in London last Saturday. The night when the stars dropped from their limos in their most attention-getting outfits, tasteful or not, (we all know there is no such thing as bad publicity). I often snickered at the flattering costumes. I often groaned as the stars prattled on endlessly during their thank you speeches. I cringed in anticipation of the musical acts - will they be impressive or a snooze? But love it or hate it, like thousands of other Indians, I was glued to my seat that night watching the Zee Cine Awards 2008...live!

So as most of the public was eagerly awaiting the arrival of their favourite Bollywood star inside the arena, I was impatiently waiting for them to first arrive on the mere 5 meter red carpet kept only to make us media feel that it was a grand red-carpet event. The few first ones to arrive were designer Manish Malhotra & model Nina Manuel who respectively played hosts on the red carpet for channel ETC and Zee After Hours. Come 6.30 pm, BMW's, Mercedes, Bentley's, Chryslers piled up one behind the other to bring in some of Bollywood's well-known faces. Like the lovey-dovey couple Saif Ali Khan who looked like a true Nawab in his white blazer with yellow embroidered collar on his blue jean along with his girlfriend Kareena Kapoor wearing a dark brown dress and looking quite tanned (they've just popped in to London from their vacation in Maldives). The entire Kapoor family walked the red carpet from Randhir, Rishi, Neetu and Chimpoo Kapoor to Ranbir Kapoor in a trademark London style outfit wearing a pink jumper on his black suit. Also hand in hand walked the hot contender honewali Kapoor bahu Deepika Padukone in her beautiful long black outfit. Neil Nitin Mukesh who was accompanied by his father Nitin Mukesh and his mother looked desperate to win an award...and why not? Karishma Kapoor walked in with her Polo obsessed husband Sanjay Kapur, and when asked him whether he has any plans to make it even bigger in Bollywood by showing his acting skills, he said "Yes" and after a long pause uttered "No". So what exactly is your answer Mr. Kapur?

But before the Kapoor brigade, Lara Dutta graced the red carpet in her blue dress and soon followed her ex boyfriend Kelly Dorje in a rather strange looking outfit along with...hold your breath...three stunning ladies. As for Kelly, all we can say is - teen tigda...kaam bigda. The Jaanbaaz jodi of dad Feroz Khan and son Fardeen Khan attended, then the lonely looking Riteish Deshmukh in his grey suit and blue shirt walked all alone by himself. Mrs. Gauri Khan in her olive green outfit was seen on the red carpet without hubby SRK who already escaped the media through the backstage. It was a white day where many of the celebs wore white - Upen Patel, Dia Mirza, Simi Garewal and Raima Sen. Of course, Abbas Mustan were the only ones missing, which reminds me that when Sajid Khan asked Fardeen Khan why does he feel that the director duo wear white always, he replied - 'I think because they must be a fan of Simi Garewal'. Ha!

The beautiful, the ever-so-charming, the crowning glory and the saagar jaisi aankhon wali Dimple Kapadia along with her daughter Rinke Khanna and designer Abu Jani. Dimple made all heads turn in envy when she walked the red carpet in her exquisite and delicate red and golden kurti. Veteran actors Shammi Kapoor Saab, Prem Chopra Saab and Rakesh Roshan too made their presence felt at the Zee awards. But the last to arrive after all the celebs had taken their seats was none other than music maestro A.R. Rahman. He was late and I wanted to know the reason why, to which he gave me the most clichéd answer of all - 'There is lot of traffic in London'. Agreed Sir!

So as the red carpet looked deserted outside, the show looked packed inside. From Saif Ali Khan to Katrina Kaif, from ace choreographer Ganesh Hegde to British Asian singer Jay Sean, all showcased their acts with thunderous applause. But the show stealer was Shah Rukh Khan who received the maximum, not only by his Om Shanti Om performance right at the end of the show but just by the cameras showing his face on the giant screens kept for the public. Can you believe it? It was funny man Vinay Pathak who received the maximum as well. How? Read on...He came up to receive his award for the best comedian but as the crowd in London hardly know him and his popularity in India, the arena went a bit quiet. So Vinay comes up to the microphone and tells the audience that he knows how to get them cheering on for him in three words. The words were - 'I love Shah Rukh Khan'. That's Vinay at his best. The fans seemed like they wanted to tear off the screens and take SRK out of there. He is meant to be the 'King' after all.

11 pm - the awards were given out, the acceptance speeches were delivered and the stars walked out in style after the award functions heading to the grande 'After Party' at the St James Park Hotel near Buckingham Palace hosted by Zee. Zee Haan, aapne theek suna. So while Saif Ali Khan was getting too private in front of the public eye with Kareena in the middle of the road outside the Hotel entrance (no wonder his next film is titled - Roadside Romeo), it was Mr. Rishi Kapoor who was more watched by the public for his disrespectful behavior and using swear words left right and centre towards the security guard only for the reason best known to him. What I did hear from the veteran actor though was that he was complaining about his car not turning up on time to fetch him when he stepped out of the party. What's further more embarrassing is the fact that he was shouting and swearing in front of Neetu Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone and how can we forget...the public too.

While the rest of the fraternity were enjoying their drinks, chicken and dance, the Kapoors left quietly after making a bit of noise.

Best Picture
Guru
Chak De India
Jab We Met
Om Shanti Om
Life In A Metro
Partner

Best Direction
Anurag Basu - Life In A… Metro
Imtiaz Ali - Jab We Met
Mani Ratnam - Guru
Priyadarshan - Bhool Bhulaiyaa
Shimit Amin - Chak De India
David Dhawan - Partner

Performance in a Leading Role (Male)
Abhishek Bachchan - Guru
Akshay Kumar - Bhool Bhulaiyaa
Salman Khan - Partner
Shah Rukh Khan - Chak De India
Shahid Kapoor - Jab We Met

Performance in a Leading Role (Female)
Aishwarya Rai - Guru
Deepika Padukone - Om Shanti Om
Kareena Kapoor - Jab We Met
Tabu - Cheeni Kum
Vidya Balan - Bhool Bhulaiyaa

Performance in a Supporting Role (Male)
Anil Kapoor - Welcome
Govinda - Partner
Irrfan Khan - Life In A... Metro
Mithun Chakraborty - Guru
Rajat Kapoor - Bheja Fry

Performance in a Supporting Role (Female)
Chitrashi Rawat - Chak De India
Konkona Sen Sharma - Life In A... Metro
Rani Mukerji - Saawariya
Vidya Balan - Guru
Zohra Sehgal - Cheeni Kum

Performance in a Comic Role
Govinda - Partner
Irrfan Khan - Life In A... Metro
Paresh Rawal - Bhool Bhulaiyaa
Rajpal Yadav - Bhool Bhulaiyaa
Vinay Pathak - Bheja Fry

Performance in a Negative Role
Arjun Rampal - Om Shanti Om
Kay Kay Menon - Life In A ... Metro
Shilpa Shukla - Chak De India
Vidya Balan - Bhool Bhulaiyaa
Viveik Oberoi - Shootout At Lokhandwala

Music Direction
A.R. Rahman - Barso Re Barso Re (Guru)
Mika Ganpat - Ganpat (Shootout At Lokhandwala)
Monty Sharma - Saawariya (Saawariya)
Pritam - Hare Ram Hare Ram (Bhool Bhulaiyaa)
Sajid - Wajid - Do U Wanna Partner (Partner)
Salim - Sulaiman - Chak De India (Chak De India)

Best Story
Anurag Basu - Life In A… Metro
Feroz Abbas Khan - Gandhi My Father
Imtiaz Ali - Jab We Met
Jaideep Sahni - Chak De India
Mani Ratnam - Guru
R. Balki - Cheeni Kum

Lyrics
Gulzar - Tere Bina (Guru)
Jaideep Sahni - Chak De India (Chak De India)
Javed Akhtar - Main Agar Kahoon (Om Shanti Om)
Sameer - Jab Se Tere Naina (Saawariya)
Sayeed Quadri - In Dino Life In A… Metro In Dino

Playback Singer (Male)
KK - Aankhon Mein Teri Om (Shanti Om)
Neeraj Shridhar - Hare Ram Hare Ram (Bhool Bhulaiyaa)
Shaan - Jabse Tere Naina (Saawariya)
Sukhvinder Singh - Chak De India (Chak De India)
Wajid, Laabh Janjuwa - Soni De Nakhre (Partner)

Playback Singer (Female)
Shreya Ghoshal - Barso Re (Guru)
Shreya Ghoshal - Dholna (Bhool Bhulaiyaa)
Shreya Ghoshal - Thode Badmash (Saawariya)
Shreya Ghoshal - Ye Ishq Hai (Jab We Met)
Sunidhi Chauhan - Aaja Nachle (Aaja Nachle) Read More ...

Read More ...

Read More ...

Best Actor
Shahrukh Khan - Chak De India

Best Actress
Kareena Kapoor - Jab We Met

Best Film
Taare Zameen Par

Best Director
Aamir Khan - Taare Zameen Par

Critics' Award For Best Actor
Darsheel Safary - Taare Zameen Par

Critics' Award For Best Actress
Tabu - Cheeni Kum

Critics' Award For Best Film
Shimit Amin - Chak De India

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)
Irrfan Khan - Life in a... Metro

Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female)
Konkana Sen Sharma - Life in a... Metro

Best Lyrics
Prasoon Joshi - (Maa - Taare Zameen Par)

Best Playback Singer (Male)
Shaan - (Jab Se Tere Naina - Saawariya)

Best Playback Singer (Female)
Shreya Ghosal - (Barso Re - Guru)

Best Music
A. R. Rahman - Guru

Best Story
Amol Gupte - Taare Zameen Par

Best Screenplay
Anurag Basu - Life in a... Metro

Best Dialogue
Imtiaz Ali - Jab We Met

R. D. Burman Award
Monty Sharma (Saawariya)

Lifetime Achievement Award
Rishi Kapoor

Power Awards
Yash Chopra & Aditya Chopra

Best Debut (Male)
Ranbir Kapoor - Saawariya

Best Debut (Female)
Deepika Padukone - Om Shanti Om

Best Special Effects
Red Chillies Entertainment - Om Shanti Om

Sony Head N Shoulders Fresh Face of the Year Award
Deepika Padukone

Best Background Score
A. R. Rahman - Guru

Best Editing
Amitabh Shukla - Chak De India

Best Choreography
Saroj Khan (Barso Re Megha Re - Guru)

Best Action
Rob Miller - Chak De India

Best Art Direction
Samir Chanda - Guru

Best Sound
Leslie Fernandes - Johnny Gaddaar

Best Cinematography
Sudhip Chatterjee

Best Costumes
Sujata Sharma - Gandhi My Father Read More ...

Darsheel Safary, the nine-year-old hero of ‘Taare Zameen Par’ has been nominated in the best actor category at the 53rd Filmfare Awards. The big deal about it is that he's the first child actor to have ever been nominated in a leading role.

Darsheel made a mark with a fantastic performance of a dyslexic child in ‘Taare Zameen Par’ which was Aamir Khan’s directorial debut.

The creative director, Amole Gupte, of ‘Taare Zameen Par’ says "I have no reactions. He has stepped in to the heart of the nation and that is the biggest award anybody would want".He also adds, "The film itself is anti-judgmental and I would have no view on what his family or anyone would want from him. He's a nine-year-old and I give him the benefit of doubt."

Darsheel will be competing with big names like Shah Rukh khan, Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and Shahid Kapur for the best actor’s title. The film has also been nominated for various other categories like the best picture, best director, best supporting actor and best lyricist.

Other films competing for the coveted best film award are the sensational hockey drama, ‘Chak De! India’, Mani Ratnam's ‘Guru’, Imtiaz Ali's entertainer ‘Jab We Met’ and Farah Khan's masala mix, ‘Om Shanti Om’.

‘OSO's leading lady Deepika Padukone has bagged the nomination for the best actress category. Other nominees include Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for ‘Guru’, Kareena Kapoor for ‘Jab We Met’, Madhuri Dixit for her comeback ‘Aaja Nachle’, Rani Mukherji for ‘Laaga Chunari Mein Daag’ and Vidya Balan for ‘Bhool Bhulaiya’.

This year seems to be inclined to the debutantes with Safary, Padukone and Aamir Khan bagging most of the nominations. Aamir Khan will be vying for the best direction award along with Farah Khan, Shimit Amin, Mani Ratnam, Imtiaz Ali and Anurag Basu.

The 53rd Filmfare awards will be announced on Feb 24, the same day the Oscars are announced.

Sure seems like the Indian Oscars, the Filmfare awards!

A glittering ceremony of MAX Stardust Awards was held on 27th of January '08 at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. The program was not restricted to just the handing over and receiving of awards but provided entertainment galore, including song and dance performances by leading stars like Kareena Kapoor, Lara Dutta, and Saif Ali Khan.

Among the people who attended the event were the Akshay Kumar, Govinda, Lara Dutta, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Kunal Kohli, Neha Dhupia, Dharmendra, Irfaan Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Rishi Kapoor, Celina Jaitley, Shahid Kapoor, Madhur Bhandarkar, Arjun Rampal, Sheryas Talpade and a host of others. The event had extravagant sets coupled with lasers, special effects, lighting and acoustics to create a magnificent audio and visual impact.

Here is all the action from the event. Check it out.