This story is from January 21, 2018

Black Lady shines on Delhi couple, sensuous RJ at Jio Filmfare Awards 2018

Black Lady shines on Delhi couple, sensuous RJ at Jio Filmfare Awards 2018
Shah Rukh Khan and Ranveer Singh groove with Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar
It’s an annual phenomenon that the first chest to reach the finish ribbon at the Mumbai Marathon will invariably belong to Ethiopia or Kenya or, at the very least, Africa. But while tomorrow’s paper will tell us if the story of African triumphs still holds true, the faces on our frontpage today, we assure you, weren’t as easy to foresee. The winners of last night’s 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018 were anyone’s guess.
Had Ravi Shastri been the host instead of Shah Rukh Khan, he would’ve said: “In the end, talent was the winner.”
While the smile-bringer called Irrfan Khan won the best actor in a leading role award for his delightful portrayal of one half of an “unpolished” couple striving to be accepted by the Delhi elite in Saket Chaudhary’s ‘Hindi Medium-’—which also won the best film award-—Vidya Balan took home the best actor (female) award for inhabiting a happy-go-lucky housewife who morphs into a sensuous radio jockey and indulges lonely men while shelling green peas in the breezy comedy ‘Tumhari Sulu’. Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, who made peripheral actors shine as much as the leads in her small-town rom com ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi,’ bagged the best director trophy. It was in this film that Rajkummar Rao had elicited stifled guffaws when he made his mild-mannered character reluctantly transform into a ‘badass babua’, surprising few with his best supporting actor award. It was a good evening for Rao, who not only bagged another Black Lady— the critic’s choice for best actor award— for his role in ‘Trapped’ but also soaked up the glory of ‘Newton’, India’s Oscar nominee in which he plays a government clerk presiding over a voting process in Naxal-infested Chhattisgarh— which won the critics’ choice for best film.
Held at Worli’s Dome NSCI stadium, the star-studded ceremony began with its recurring host— a tousled Shah Rukh Khan— donning a hood, grooving to a song he later confessed he had sung unremarkably under duress and even feigning a live video call to Salman Khan halfway who advises him to channel his “swag”. It surfaced not in his dance so much as in his wit when flanked by two unflattering photos from his heyday. The 52-year-old decided to take the audience down the changes in the last 25 years of his career. “Earlier, in my films, landlords could dupe the poor and usurp their land with just a thumb print. Today, they would need 50 signatures, my PAN card details, my I-T returns and bank account before checking if I have linked my Aadhar card,” deadpanned the actor. Karan Johar made an able co-host, filling the gaps between Khan’s one-liners.
While the night’s highlight reel glowed with Parineeti Chopra’s dance moves, Ayushhman's Khurrana’s silky voice and the antics of the twin forces of nature called Akshay Kumar and Ranveer Singh, what made the stage spontaneously combust was the performance of search history queen Sunny Leone. As something of a preamble to her arrival, Khan had told the women in the audience to look carefully at their husbands as they clapped for him. “The next performance is Sunny Leone’s. If they clap louder for her, please settle your scores at home,” Khan warned.
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Sunny Leone sets the stage on fire
A key moment arrived when Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar found herself embroiled in banter between Ranveer Singh and Shah Rukh, who dispensed tips on how to make it in the industry. The lifetime achievement award was shared by actor Mala Sinha of ‘Pyaasa’ (1956) fame, known as the “daring diva” for taking on roles such as that of an unwed mother, and sextagenarian music composer Bappi Lahiri who arrived in his black-and-gold glory. Sinha said: “It is every actor’s dream to touch and feel the Black Lady in their hands. I feel proud today.”

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Vidya Balan presents the Lifetime Achievement Award to Bappi Lahiri, while Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan present it to Mala Sinha
A new subset called Jio Short Film Awards returned for the second time this year and like any two-year-old, turned out to be a riot. Here, Jackie Shroff’s rendering of an aging man who scratches his back with a buttermilk churner in ‘Khujli’, won the best actor (male) award while Shefali Shah’s powerhouse performance in Juice earned her the best actor (female) award. Neeraj Ghaywan won the best film award for his short film ‘Juice’.
The aggregate colour scheme on the red carpet—a conveyor belt of mannequin-like women in sequinned pastel cocktail gowns and men boasting skinny ties and lapel pins—oscillated between dazzling white and basic black.
Title sponsor for the event was Jio, associate sponsor Reliance Digital, associate sponsor Carnival Cinemas, associate sponsor PC Jewellers, associate sponsor Gaurs, powered by Jio Phone, powered by Pan Bahar, powered by Shivatara, telecast partners Colors and Jio TV, blockchain technologies partner Money Coin Concepts, fashion network partner Youdley, auto partner Skoda, celebration wear partner Manyavar, outdoor partner Bright Outdoor Advertising, cinema advertising partner Khushi Advertising, hydration partner Blue Pine Water, food partner Moveable Feast, beverage partner Living Liquidz Water, English news channel partner Times Now, radio partner Radio Mirchi, trophy partner The Award Gallery, invitation partner Ravish Kapoor, venue partner Dome Entertainment Pvt Ltd, music partner T-Series, designed, scripted, directed & managed by Fountainhead Entertainment, show directors V G Jairam & Ganesh Hegde, acts remixed, choreographed and designed by Ganesh Hegde, dancers by Ganesh Hegde Entertainment Pvt Ltd, technical direction and stage management On-Cue.
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