The Hindu : Front Page : Jodhaa Akbar sweeps IIFA awards at Macau

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Monday, Jun 15, 2009
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Jodhaa Akbar sweeps IIFA awards at Macau

It wins 10 trophies, including one for ‘Best Film’

BEST ACTOR: Hrithik Roshan

Macau: Bollywood director Ashutosh Gowarikar’s historical love epic Jodhaa Akbar swept the 10th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards here, taking home trophies for best picture, best director and best actor.

The movie tracing the rise of the great Mughal emperor Akbar in the 16th century and his romance with Hindu princess Jodhaa took home 10 trophies in all, including one for the ‘Best Film.’

Hrithik Roshan’s portrayal of the Muslim monarch won him the Best Actor trophy while Gowarikar won the Best Director award for his epic drama which wove together romance and communal harmony.

The film which had nominations in all the categories faced stiff competition from other super hits like Ghajini, A Wednesday, Dostana, Rock On and Race.

The Best Actress trophy went to Priyanka Chopra for her power-packed performance as a small town girl who makes it big in the world of fashion in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion. The other contenders in this category were Asin, Katrina Kaif and Bipasha Basu.

“When I started, I was advised not to make the film depicting two religions coming together because the situation in the country at that point of time was not right,” said Gowariker said accepting his award at the ceremony. “But I am happy that I made a film which is based on Hindu-Muslim unity.”

Double Oscar-winning musician A.R. Rahman won the Best Music Director award for the period romance. Javed Akhtar walked away with the Best Lyricist trophy for ‘Jashn-e-Bahara’ and Javed Ali bagged the Best Playback Singer (male) award for the same song.

BEST ACTRESS: Priyanka Chopra

Jodha Akbar also won awards for Best Costume Design (Neeta Lulla), Best Editing (Ballu Saluja), Best Art Direction (Nitin Chandrakant Desai) and Best Make Up (Madhav Kadam).

Arjun Rampal took home the trophy for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Rock On. Kangana Ranaut won the Best Supporting Actress trophy for her depiction of a troubled supermodel in Fashion. Akshaye Khanna took the honours for the Best Negative Role for Race.

‘Antakshari’

A highlight of the five hour long event was the ‘Antakshari,’ where all the stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, sang. The mega star sang ‘Mere Pass Aao Mere Doston’ and ‘Kabhi-Kabhi’ to a thundering crowd.

Hrithik Roshan’s rendition of ‘Yara Teri Yaari ’ was also met with a thundering applause by the 12,000 strong audience. The other stars who turned singer for the night were Farhan Akhtar, Priyanka Chopra, Sonam Kapoor and Bipasha Basu.

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