What's talent got to do with it?. Review on Filmfare Awards 2002

The country?s most watched awards has proved it?s point once again? talent means zilch.

Filmfare, if it had the sense, would be ashamed of it?s consistent hypocrisy. Every year one watches this hyped function with a sense of foreboding? what kind of unfairness is going to be dished out now? The favourites of this magazine are always pampered unabashedly as if it were some personal equation that they were celebrating rather than a professional evaluation of cinema.

The highlights this year were:

(1) the power(?) awards given to Shahrukh and Amitabh.(Imagine Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson always getting some award or the other at the Oscars!)

(2) the Sister Act by Kareena. Okay so Karishma got married and Kareena is feeling lonely? how does that form a part of a film award function?

(3) The best actress award to Preity Zinta - who could seriously compare her performance with Urmila?s in Bhoot?(and I am saying this even though I normally cannot stand Urmila and her bizarre expressions of femininity)

(4) Another silly award to Kareena for her performance in Chameli? no one but the mentally challenged would give an award to an actress simply for attempting a?different? role.

I loved the way Urmila breezily said a thank you to the critics award and walked off without further ado. I mean, everyone knows what the whole farce is about? so why bother to look pleased? For a moment I thought Shahrukh would again manage to wrest the award from a much more deserving colleague? but thankfully Hritik won? perhaps the sheer success of KMG intimidated the jury.

Aamir Khan? easily the most admired and loved actor in India today, has made a good point by never attending the mela. He publicly worked hard on getting Lagaan an Oscar and never even showed up at that year?s Filmfare awards where the poor devils had been forced to give it to him.

I believe Ajay Devgan, the other, genuine, commercial talent does the same. It would be good if all good actors followed suit, instead of hopefully hanging around for scraps from such a dubious body.

Shahrukh-Saif?s jokes were chuckle-worthy? but I could not help thinking that if one were to spoof Shahrukh and his Filmfare connection, the outcome would be far more funny and real. Even here it was Saif who made the whole thing seem comic? can you imagine anything funny about a single act by Shahrukh?

All in all I thought the whole show was very much worth watching? after all we expect total and brazen partiality from this particular function? and they never fail to disappoint. So watch and be indignant!