If star power is any indication of how successful an awards function is, then the Karbonn Mobiles 17th Annual Star Screen Awards was a megawatt hit. The who?s who of Bollywood ? yesteryear stars, current heartthrobs and up-and-coming young guns ? walked down the red carpet laid out at the MMRDA Grounds in Mumbai?s Bandra-Kurla Complex on Thursday evening. There was a slight nip in the air but that didn?t keep the guests away, nor did it tone down the gleeful celebrations that started once the awards were announced. The Udaan team arrived in full force ? director Vikramaditya Motwane was accompanied by actors Rajat Barmecha, Ronit Roy, Ram Kapoor and little Aayan Boradia. The team sat together right in front of the stage and their joy when they nabbed the two top awards of the evening ? Best Director and Best Picture ? were infectious.
Another group that was in high spirits was the Dabangg team, which took home six awards. A nervous-looking Arbaaz Khan was accompanied by sisters Arpita and Alvira, and later by superstar brother Salman Khan. The evening was an especially memorable one for the Khan family, as Salman won his first ever Best Actor award. The movie?s leading lady, Sonakshi Sinha was also present, looking stunning in a backless dress. Band Baaja Baaraat?s Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh hosted the show most of the evening, but took time out to go and join their director Maneesh Sharma in the audience.
Also spotted was veteran director and producer Yash Chopra who arrived alone, but was seen bonding with old friend Rekha. The glamorous actor, who looked stunning in a white and gold sari, later joined her old colleagues Asha Parekh, Hema Malini and Zeenat Aman on the front row. Also on the front row were Karan Johar ? who walked in about an hour after the function had started ? and Shah Rukh Khan, who also did an entertaining stint as host, along with Shahid Kapoor. Rising star Prateik Babbar and newlyweds Priyanka and Vivek Oberoi, Kajol, Shabana Azmi and Sonali Bendre, southern dancing sensation-turned-director, Prabhudeva, too were present, along with fellow jury members Amol Palekar and Kabir Khan. The latter was accompanied by wife Mini Mathur. Peepli Live?s Natha, Omkar Das Manikpuri, got visibly emotional when he went up on stage to collect the Best Ensemble Cast award on behalf of his co-stars.
Non-film personalities too graced the occasion. ICICI bank MD and CEO, Chanda Kochhar came with her family, while MP Milind Deora accompanied wife Pooja Shetty-Deora and sister-in-law Aarti Shetty. Also spotted were model-turned-photographer Sheetal Mallar, and choreographer Sandiip Soparrkar, who was accompanied by wife, model Jesse Randhawa.