Bollywood’s Jodhaa Akbar wins at Indian film awards

MACAU (Reuters) – Indian epic film Jodhaa Akbar  scooped top honours in India’s version of the Oscars at a  ceremony in the Chinese gambling haven of Macau yesterday.

Some of Indian cinema’s biggest names including Amitabh  Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan graced the green carpet, as  thousands of fans screamed and jostled for autographs at the annual IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) awards.
The night’s big winner in an awards ceremony replete with  circus performers, fireworks and high-octane Bollywood dance  routines was Jodhaa Akbar, about a 16th century Muslim emperor  who marries a Hindu princess.

The film picked up awards including best picture and best  director for Ashutosh Gowariker, while heart-throb Hrithik  Roshan won best male actor and A.R. Rahman best music direction.

The film’s director said the central theme of religious  tolerance was a vital one for contemporary Indian society.

“Yes, we do need a Hindu-Muslim alliance … we do need a  dynamic secular India in the 21st century,” said Gowariker.

India, home to the world’s most prolific movie industry, has  tried to broaden its global appeal through the annual IIFA  awards, held in a different city each year.
“Any audience is important to us, and China is a huge  market, we love Chinese films back home and I hope they enjoy  our films,” said actor Abhishek Bachchan, who won “best  performance in a comic role.“

“I think it’s bringing Indian cinema to the world,” said  Hemal Ghelani, 18, an Indian resident in Singapore, who flew in  with her family for the event. “We’re very excited to be here.”
The awards come at a challenging time for Bollywood, the  popular name for India’s huge Hindi-language film industry, with  box office takings and film budgets hit by the downturn. A  strike by film producers over box-office takings in multiplex  cinemas also saw no major Indian films released for two months  until the strike ended in early June.

India’s filmed entertainment sector, estimated at about $2.2  billion, is expected to suffer badly this year. Longer term  though, consultancy KPMG forecasts average growth of more than 9  per cent a year over the next five years.

Indian actor Rajesh Khanna was presented with a lifetime  achievement award for his 40 years of cinematic work.

“A long journey I must say,” he said in receiving his award.
Best actress was won by Priyanka Chopra for Fashion while  Aishwarya Rai, a former Miss World won “best actress of the  decade”, while Lagaan won best picture of the decade.