Actress Zeenat Aman receives the Lifetime Achievement award

God created men and women and SHE created them equal.” If there was anything — apart from Zeenat Aman being conferred the Lifetime Achievement award — that invited thunderous applause from the audience at the eighth edition of the Women Achievers Awards, it was this statement by a certain Mr Aamir Khan.

Held at the sprawling lawns of the ITC Grand Maratha in Mumbai’s Andheri on Tuesday evening and organised by FICCI Ladies Organisation, women achievers hailing from different fields of work were honoured in front of a 300-strong glittering crowd. “Whether it is in education, media, politics or even flying into space, the woman of today is right up there with her male peers. This award function is an effort to not only recognise her remarkable achievements, but also to salute her undying spirit and her ability to balance home and hearth so effectively,” beamed Anu Ranjan, editor of GR8! magazine, who along with husband Shashi Ranjan founded the awards in 2001. Anu is also the founder of Beti, a movement against female foeticide.

Designer Anamika Khanna with her award

From five categories in the first edition, the number of awards has risen to 22. As expected, most awards were in the field of entertainment with singer Sunidhi Chauhan (music), Balika Vadhu child actor Avika Gor (television) and Ghajini actress Asin (cinema) being the prominent recipients. Dressed in a little white dress, actress Deepika Padukone seemed more piqued than pleased with her Best Newcomer award. “I thought I was done with all the newcomer awards last year,” she declared tightly.

The others, however, were more than happy with the recognition. The list of awardees included Praseeda Kunam (activism) of Samhita Microfinance that provides financial aid to destitute women and Pepsico India’s Puneeta Lal (corporate). The award for finance was conferred on Usha Narayanan, the executive director of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, while sculptor and artist Navjot Altaf was awarded for her achievement in the field of fine arts.

Deepika Padukone was awarded the Best Newcomer

Calcutta’s very own Anamika Khanna won the award for fashion. “Every woman is a woman of substance,” smiled Anamika, making heads turn in a beige A-line dress teamed with knee-length black boots.

Anuja Chauhan, author of the bestseller The Zoya Factor and the brain behind advertising winners like Yeh dil maange more and Oye bubbly, was recognised for her achievement in the field of advertising. Like her slogans, Anuja’s thank-you speech too was hatke. “I want to thank my maid for looking after my children and cooking for the house while I go to work,” she smiled.

Director Farah Khan handed over the award for medicine and healthcare to Dr Firuza Parikh for her efforts in the field of assisted reproduction and genetics. “It is Firuza who I have to thank for my three wonderful babies,” said a visibly moved Farah.

Industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla presented the award for achievement in law to senior advocate Nalini Chidambaram, wife of home minister P. Chidambaram. The Young Entrepreneur award went to sisters Schauna, Alisha and Nadia Chauhan of the Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd group. Sminu Jindal, who has been wheelchair bound since the age of 12 and is behind the success story of Jindal Steel, was bestowed in the entrepreneur category. Rajashree Birla, board director and chairperson of the Aditya Birla Group, was conferred the Golden Laurel by filmmaker Yash Chopra.

Celina Jaitley performs at the event

The show was studded with performances by singers Roopkumar Rathod and Mohit Chauhan, whose Masakkali was a hit with the audience, a salsa performance by television actors Gaurav Chopra and Mouni Roy and a sizzling act by actress Celina Jaitley who paid a tribute to Zeenat Aman. The Dum maaro dum star was then given the Lifetime Achievement award.

But the standing ovation for the evening was reserved for four extraordinary women — three of them being Mallika Jagad of Taj Mahal Hotel, Dr Archana Garud of Cama Hospital and Dhakuria resident Sabrina Pooja Dey of the Oberoi-Trident, who were given the GR8! special honour for displaying exemplary courage during the Mumbai terror attacks. Shahida Parveen Ganguly, the most decorated officer of the Jammu and Kashmir police force, was the fourth recipient of the award.

“It’s such a humbling experience to be on the same stage as these special women. Placed in the same situation, I don’t think I would have been able to do what they did so selflessly and tirelessly,” said Aamir, the chosen one to present the special award.

Priyanka Roy