The 2011 edition of the Zee Cine Awards, the premier awards ceremony for Indian ‘Bollywood’ cinema was conducted in Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The extravaganza was conducted smoothly with its delightful kaleidoscope of colour, personal expression, music and humour reaching out to a global audience. Interestingly while most of the honours are decided by popular choice, accompanying jury awards were bestowed in the major categories.
Many of the major prizes went to established names with an ensemble of A-list names amongst the list of winners. ‘Dabangg’ starring Salman Khan was the most successful film, winning a total of no less than 9 honours; it was successful in the categories of Best Film, Best Debut Director – Abhinav Kashyap, Best Debut Female – Sonakshi Sinha, Best Music and Best Song amidst other accolades. However the top actor award eluded Salman, in both jury and popular choice categories.
The Best Actress and Best Actor awards in the popular choice category were claimed respectively by Vidya Balan in ‘Ishqiya’ and Shah Rukh Khan in ‘My Name Is Khan’. Both Vidya and Shah Rukh were modest in accepting the most prestigious prizes at the ceremony.
Meanwhile the jury honours for Best Actress and Best Actor were captured by respectively Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan, both in the film ‘Guzaarish’. In accepting the awards Aishwarya paid tribute to famed director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, with whom she has had a fruitful collaboration. Meanwhile Hrithik in a philosophical mood stated that the film was special to him with its message that misery and suffering often turn out to be the wind beneath our wings.
Vikramaditya Motwane bagged the jury Best Director award for ‘Udaan’ while Karan Johar was the popular choice for ‘My Name Is Khan’.
Priyanka Chopra hosting the show dressed up as a character from each of the nominees for the finest film, dazzling the audience. Sajid Khan and first-time host Akshay Kumar set the tone for the glamorous event by cracking jokes raising the spirits of everyone present.
Enhancing the star presence at the Zee Cine awards Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan, Arjun Rampal and Deepika Padukone all made their mark by providing sensational stage performances of songs from their films in the past year.
The Zee Cine Awards 2011 in Singapore held at Marina Bay Sands was a huge success. This venue with its superb theatres in Singapore is a first-class location for prestigious events.
