RED CARPET RUSH

Long before the show kicked off at Reliance Jio Garden in Bandra Kurla Complex, every inch was taken along the red carpet. The first sighting was at 6.15pm, of an amiable Purab Kohli who stopped before every camera to answer questions. “So grounded,” exclaimed Ola el Shafey, of the Egyptian website Youm 7.

The local media sprung to action when Sooraj Barjatya appeared. “I am happy with the business Prem Ratan Dhan Payo did. I knew what kind of audience I was addressing. I hope Salman gets some awards tonight,” said the director. Anu Malik, as usual, did not need questions to give answers. “I got an award for Main Hoon Na in 2005. In between, I got many nominations. The competition here is tough — Bajirao Mastani, Roy, Tamasha.... Aap dua karo mere liye,” he said, before breaking into his Moh moh ke dhaage from Dum Laga Ke Haisha. Shiamak Davar was his affable self. “Three of my students are participating (Shahid Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput and Sonakshi Sinha). I am excited and nervous,” said the dance guru.  

Shreya Ghoshal met Monali Thakur on the red carpet and gave her a hug. “Aap logon ka sanskritik milan ho raha hai,” a Hindi channel reporter quipped, making both of them break into a giggle. Shreya had three nominations from Bajirao Mastani against Monali’s one (Moh moh ke dhaage). They wished each other best of luck. Asked which of the three songs was her favourite, Shreya named Deewani mastani from Bajirao.... “I love to sing for actresses with expressive faces like Kareena (Kapoor Khan), Aishwarya (Rai Bachchan), Vidya (Balan) and Sonakshi (Sinha),” she told t2. “Also, those who understand the nuances of music are better at picturising a song.”

Sonakshi was up next and stopped a question on her father’s biography midway, though not with a Shotgun-style “khamosh”. “I have read only half the book,” she said, mother Poonam by her side. On being complimented by t2 on how “normal” Sonakshi was, the mother answered: “I brought her up as a normal child. She has given us many reasons to be proud. This is one.”

UP-HEEL MISSION

The red carpet turned into a ramp as in walked a six-footer in four-inch red stilettos. The elaborate romp made the shiny heels more visible than the... bearded face of Arjun Kapoor! (Below) Boney Kapoor ka beta made sure that no one in the vicinity could take their eyes off his footwear but to his credit, he did not try to sing High heels, the song from the film Ki & Ka he was here to promote. That was left to the song’s composers Meet Bros to do soon after.

Asked about Arjun’s antics, his  bromance partner Ranveer Singh was too happy to rub it in. “Unki masculinity, mashallah!” he winked, before adding that Arjun had come to his van to show him his outfit. If a man decides to do quirky style in Bollywood, he better get Ranveer’s seal of approval first. “Paer ke yahan tak mardane lag rahe thhe, uske neechey…” long pause..... “Maine kahaa, ‘Yaar, tumhari confidence toh alag level pe chal raha hai!’”

Seeing Parineeti Chopra arriving, Ranveer gallantly waited to escort her in. “He was the one who caught me dancing to Sheila ki jawani in front of a mirror at Yash Raj studios and said that I’d be an actress some day,” Parineeti said gratefully. “I am better than Adi (Chopra), at talent-spotting,” Ranveer preened.

SEEN, NOT HEARD

The cutest presence was definitely that of Harshaali Malhotra, the girl whom Salman Khan crossed the border with in Bajrangi Bhaijaan. t2 failed to elicit any comment from her other than an angelic smile. Was the nominee in the Best Actress category replaying her Munni role on the red carpet, we wondered. “Harshaali is in Class II now,” said mother Kajal. “She wants to be a superstar.”

Her namesake, Kajol, was seen but, like Harshaali, barely heard as she was in a rush to get in with pa-in-law, yesteryear fight master Veeru Devgan. In fact, she left as soon as the lifetime contribution award was handed to him. Amitabh Bachchan, who was supposed to give away the award, could not make it as he was unwell. So it was Rohit Shetty who did the honours. 

Anil Kapoor was in no hurry. His performance would be the final act. “I have no idea after how long I am performing at an award show,” he confessed to t2.

POOR TIMING

The last among the guests to walk in, and possibly ruing why he didn’t come even later, was Salman Khan. For he walked straight into Sushant Singh Rajput’s dance tribute to Shah Rukh Khan, from Tujhe dekha toh to Tukur tukur, and then had to hear him wax eloquent about how he dreamt of becoming an actor seeing SRK’s films. The faces of Salman (deadpan) and Sushant’s partner Ankita Lokhande (lips parted, eyes tenderly eloquent) were pictures in contrast.

Perhaps it is only Anu Malik who can flaunt his versatility by reciting such bad verse. Up on stage, he was asked by host Shahid Kapoor to deliver a sher. Ignoring how the cheeky Kapoor had described him as a “man of few words”, Malik launched upon the following doggerel: Karan Johar bhi hain/ Shahid Kapoor bhi hain/ Dono mein hain dum/ Dekhiye Kapoor & Sons. “Par Sir, aapki aankhein dikhti hain kum,” Shahid gleefully added from the other end of the stage, pointing to his co-host Parineeti. To be fair to Anu, Karan, the producer of the upcoming release Kapoor & Sons, was billed as an MC and would be taking over the mic from Parineeti soon after, so the “shayari” he had prepared came in the wrong segment.

SHOWSTOPPER

Yes, there was Sushant. Yes, there was Sonakshi. Yes, there was Arjun Kapoor’s hop-around on heels. Yes, there was Ranveer Singh, doing not only his own high-octane act but also joining Arjun on “high heels”. But the baap of all performers was Sonam Kapoor’s baap, Anil Kapoor. Proud daughter beamed in the front row as daddy knocked off a few decades to dance to today’s numbers as well as do his signature My name is Lakhan kite-flying steps. And trust Ranveer to do what many in the audience felt like doing — leap onto the stage and give “Mr India” a prostrate ovation.

Sudeshna Banerjee
Zee Cine Awards will air on March 5 on Zee TV, 7pm onwards. 
(Watch this space for Tollywood’s debut on the Zee Cine Awards stage)