Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 22, 2018)

SRK, Ranveer aur woh
Host Shah Rukh Khan announced that he was to be joined by the “world’s most beautiful woman”, and the song “Aankhon Mein Teri Ajab Si” from Om Shanti Om began to play, making way for Manushi Chillar’s entrance. While the crowd hooted, Ranveer Singh pointed out that there is another “mast and beautiful woman” who made a grand entry with the song. Obviously, he meant steady date Deepika Padukone. While the audience was in splits, the Badshah quipped, “Tu paida bhi nahi hua tha jab maine yeh film Deepika ke saath ki thi.” Throwing caution to the wind, Ranveer made it evident how much he was missing Dippy, who had to give the 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018 a miss as she was in Paris.

SRK kept pulling the younger actor’s leg, warning him not to bring his personal problems to the awards but there was no stopping Ranveer who kept at it while also flirting with Manushi in another act. It was only when SRK jokingly threatened him of Skype-ing Deepika to inform her of his antics that the lover boy fled the scene.


On song with Bappi
Veteran actress Mala Sinha had turned emotional while receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award while composer-singer Bappi Lahiri, who was also given the award this year, was fascinated by Ranveer’s tribute to him, who took the audience through Bappida chartbusters like “I Am A Disco Dancer”, “Ooh La La”, and “Tamma Tamma”, “Yaar Bina Chain Kaha Re”, and “Tune Maari Entriyaan”, while keeping his wig, over-thetop costume (including hand-picked printed bell bottoms) in place.

“When Ranveer was asked if he would honour Bappi da, he master-minded the whole jig and practiced extensively with choreographer Ganesh Hegde and his team. The quirky costume from the ’80s, the selection of songs and even the impromptu moves on stage were his brainwave,” a source told Mirror.

Win-win situation for Sulu
Rekha, who presented the Best Actress award to Vidya Balan for her Tumhari Sulu, shook a leg with her to “Ban Ja Tu Meri Rani”, while Vidya’s husband Siddharth Roy Kapur applauded. After a long list of thank yous, an emotional Vidya turned to Rekha and said, “You are my inspiration, thank you for always supporting me,” and the two recreated their jadoo ki jhappis on a loop from the Filmfare Awards three years ago, when Rekha had presented the Best Actress Award to her for The Dirty Picture.

Ayushmann, who had a guest turn in Tumhari Sulu, sang “Dil Hai Ki Maanta Nahi”. The winner signed off, saying, “At the end of it all, I dedicate this award to every woman who dares to dream and work towards it and every man who chooses to support her unconditionally.”


Going for gold
Suspended at 20 feet alongside three trapeze artistes, Akshay Kumar’s grand performance elicited whistles even as Ayushmann Khurrana, who was hosting that segment, gushed about his “insanely fit avatar”. The actor performed stunts midair and vaulted to the stage as disco lights lit up the dome. Then, all of a sudden, the song, “Kar Lo Thoda Sa Pyaar” stopped, and while everyone sighed over the moment being ruined by a technical glitch, Akki announced, “Me dancing, you watching, party not happening. Me singing, you dancing — that’s when the party is happening.” He then went on to rap the Punjabi track himself, jumping into the front row, then on a chair next to his Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi co-star, Rekha. He was joined by Ranveer even as Rekha gave him the “thumbs-up”. Akshay went on to dance with the crowd.

His performance ended after midnight, but praise for his gesture of shifting his film Pad Man’s release by two weeks to give Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat a clear field this weekend, continued to be the talk of the evening. “Akshay for Gold,” the period drama’s Ranveer and Shahid Kapoor exclaimed in unison.


Two much
They may have arrived and exited separately, but the off-screen chemistry between Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt caught everybody’s attention backstage. The duo, who recently took a trip to Israel together to prep for Ayan Mukerji’s upcoming superhero film Brahmastra, chatted, laughed and stayed close, before and after Ranbir presented the Best Actor (Critics) award to Rajkummar Rao.

“They make such a great pair,” a superstar beamed. The duo who seem to be B-Town’s newest besties, were joined by Arjun and his cousin Sonam Kapoor. “I’m shooting really early with Ranbir tomorrow,” Sonam said, as she made a quick exit. Alia left soon after Ranbir.

Bollywood on the go
At 5 am on Sunday, the check-in counter at Mumbai’s International Airport was buzzing as Rajkummar Rao, who won two awards (Best Actor — Critics for Trapped, Best Supporting Actor for Bareilly Ki Barfi) walked in. The actor tried to be incognito in a mask, glares and cap but was soon clicking selfies with a dozen young girls. Also present at the airport were Pritam (who had won Best Background Score and Best Music Album for Jagga Jassos) and Pankaj Tripathi, who were all boarding different domestic flights.