The most emotionally loaded moment on the Zee Cine Awards stage, at NSCI Dome in Worli, was when Ananya Panday completed her dance routine and her father was called on stage. Chunky Panday, always unageing and goofy, came up from the audience, eyes wide in delight, hands shaking, full of excited chatter. If he had had a hunch of what his daughter had been planning for him, his surprised look did not show it at all.

“Ek mahine se secret rakha hai aur pata nahin kaise rakha hai,” the doe-eyed svelte actress gushed on the mic, still breathless from the high-energy dance act. “I was so worried that Papa would figure out what we are doing as his bathroom is in front of my rehearsal room. He would come and ask kya chal raha hai. We would quickly turn the music off.”

The reason was simple: the Kesari Chapter 2 actress was paying a tribute to her father. Her pre-recorded voice was played, saying, “Bachpan se jinhone mujhe sab se zyada hasaya hai, jinki main sabse badi fan hoon…” Dancers walked in with a larger-than-life portrait of her father which parted from the middle to reveal Ananya in lehnga-choli. The sound system blared 80s Chunky Panday hits like Saat samundar paar (Viswatma), O lal dupattewali (Ankhen), Jhoomo nacho gao yaron (Mitti aur Sona)... to which Ananya and her supporting dancers performed a flawless act.

The camera caught the doting father mouthing the lyrics seated in the front row as wife Bhavna next to him wiped a tear.

Called on stage at the end of the act, he was seen mouthing the words “I am shocked”. The hosts, Aparshakti Khurana and Vikrant Massey, urged for a father-daughter duet act as the music system played Main tera tota tu meri maina, to which he had serenaded Neelam 27 years ago in Paap ki Duniya, before Ananya was even born.

The lyrics were hardly appropriate for a parent-child routine but it did not matter. And Chunky actually remembered his tota steps! “Lag raha hai ki mujhe lifetime achievement award mil gaya,” he said, a tad emotionally, afterwards, as Ananya bowed before him.

Burning bright

Another star kid shone that night, though his father was not present to witness the act. Tiger Shroff showed why he is a complete package of dance and action. The first glimpse of him was his gigantic shadow projected on a big screen that hung from the top of the stage framework, making slow, deliberate moves. And then the stage exploded as the screen fell and his muscular frame came on view, gyrating to his hits like Zindagi aa raha hoon, Jai jai Shivshankar, Whistle baja.... The high point was the way he rolled across the length of the stage in a series of somersaults.

Jackie Shroff would have been proud.

Later, when Tiger came back on stage to be quizzed by a child, she referred to Jaggu dada’s propensity to refer to everyone younger to him affectionately as “mera bachcha”. “Sab toh unke bachche hai, par aasli aap hi ho na?” she asked, leaving the audience in titters. Tiger revealed his partiality to ice cream and chocolate on his cheat days. His rippling muscles hardly betrayed any deviation from diet, though.

Double delight

Kartik Aaryan won big that night, taking home the Best Actor prizes in both the Critics Choice and Popular categories. “Bhool Bhulaiyaa is an emotion for me. During the shoot, Anees Bazmi had an accident. Yet he finished the film, putting his heart and soul into it,” he said in his acceptance speech.

The actor later shared his ecstasy on X with photos of him holding both trophies, captioned: “Samajh rahe ho na!! Critics aur Popular dono jeet gaya, Rare moment in an actor’s life. Critics Best Actor Leading Role — Chandu Champion, Best Actor Popular Leading Role — Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, 2024 — A year to remember. #Gratitude Thank you @ZeeCineAwards.”

He shared the Critics Choice award with Vikrant Massey, who won it for Sector 36.

Shraddha Kapoor, who did not attend, won the Best Actress Viewer’s Choice award for Stree 2. The Best Actress Critics Choice trophy went to Kriti Sanon for Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya.

Crowning glory

It was a big night for the team of Stree 2, which also won the Best Film Viewer’s Choice award for Dinesh Vijan’s Maddock Films and the Best Director award for Amar Kaushik (the award was shared jointly with Kiran Rao for Laapataa Ladies). The director, who also has the successful Stree and Bhediya to his credit, dedicated the award to “first-time filmmakers”. “You will fall but you will rise and find a producer,” was his message to them as he recalled his days of struggle.

Sachin-Jigar had double nominations for Best Music. As the duo walked in, t2 asked which film they were more confident about.

“Behind every success is a stree,” Sachin responded, with a wink. Indeed, Stree 2 was what fetched them the trophy, not Munjya.

The film also won the Best Female Playback Singer award for Madhubanti Bagchi for the song Aaj ki raat (while Arijit Singh was adjudged the Best Male Singer for Sajni). It also received the Best Sound Design trophy, which went to Kingshuk Moran. Aparshakti took a break from his hosting duties to collect a trophy for Best Actor in A Comic Role for Stree 2 (which he shared with Abhishek Banerjee for the same film).

R. Madhavan was the Best Actor in a Negative Role for Shaitaan. Madhuri Dixit was the Best Supporting Actress for Bhool Bhulaiyaa3. Laapataa Ladies was the Best Film.

The awards night also paid tribute to Ravi Kishan, not just handing him the Best Supporting Actor trophy for Laapataa Ladies but also for his oeuvre of 750-odd films in multiple languages. In a nod to his low-key desi roots, he made his entrance in a decorated cycle rickshaw. “Yeh bhukh, yeh deewanapan, yeh nervousness kabhi nahin jaani chahiye,” the veteran actor said. He also appeared in a gag with Kiku Sharda, who regaled in drag.

The evening also paid tribute to the Indian Army.

(Clockwise from right) Kartik Aaryan with one of the two Best Actor awards he won; Ananya Panday dances with her father Chunky Panday; Tiger Shroff with a child artiste and the show’s hosts Aparshakti Khurana and Vikrant Massey; Palak Muchhal with husband Mithoon Sharma; Ananya Panday and Suniel Shetty announce a prize; Tamannaah Bhatia on stage

Jacqueline Fernandez; Rashmika Mandanna and Shilpa Rao on the purple carpet; Ravi Kishan waits to make his entry on a rickshaw; Sachin-Jigar; Madhubanti Bagchi delivers an acceptance speech; K-pop singer Park Min-jun, aka Aoora, who had taken part in Bigg Boss 17, dropped by

(The 23rd Zee Cine Awards will be telecast on Zee TV and Zee Cinema, and streamed on Zee5 tonight at 7.30pm)