Stars shine bright at Filmfare Awards night

Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai, where most Bollywood stars have played their parts in movie shoots, saw them playing themselves when they walked through its iron gates and down the red carpet to attend the 53rd Fair One Filmfare Awards 2007 ceremony. It was an evening of glitz and glamour when the denizens of Bollywood showed themselves in their personal best and with expectations.

The function Saturday evening started with the national anthem and then the stage was taken over by Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan as they acted as emcees of the evening with beautiful Vidya Balan playing co-host.

After the announcement of a few technical awards, the colourful function reached its crescendo when the rising star, the energetic Neil Nitin Mukesh, who had debuted with last year’s “Johnny Gaddar”, danced with a bevy of girls to the tune of a song from the movie.

Singer-composer Himesh Reshamiyya rocked as he crooned a few lines from the songs “Aslam Walekum…”, “Jhooth Nahin Bolna…”, “Chakna…” and “Mehbooba…”.

Deepika Padukone in a red sari stopped the hearts of many as she danced to the beats of a number from her debut movie “Om Shanti Om.”

She and a group of boys and girls accompanying her took everybody present down memory lane as she also danced to the tunes of Mumtaz and Sridevi starrers of the yesteryears.

Viveik Oberoi made his sinewy presence felt on the stage as he strutted around in the guise of a street-smart guy as the track from the song “Aye Ganpat…” from the movie “Shootout At Lokhandwala” played in the background.

In a resplendent western outfit, with a hat et al, Kareena Kapoor entered the stage with an assurance of a lady and made everybody dance to her trot as she did a jig and performed from “Maija hi maija…” From “Jab We Met” and “Yeh Ishq hai…”.

Bollywood’s hit star Akshay Kumar came up on stage last and he held the attendees together as everybody gaped with wonder at the spirit in which he strutted around when songs from his recent films like “Bhool Bhulaiya” and “Welcome” played for his benefit. At midnight, his was the most energetic performance.

If the performances by the stars were too eye filling and too awe-inspiring, the comic relief was provided by the emcees themselves to compensate for the absence of comedy acts. Their repartees, asides, indirect innuendos and harmless bantering kept the invitees in splits.

The two Khans, especially, held the fort with as much aplomb as with charm. They walked away with all the appreciations from the gathering.

It was indeed the evening of the Khans, considering that Aamir Khan also walked away with all the coveted awards.