National Awards, delayed but not denied

The National awards seem extraordinarily Alzheimer-friendly this year. Two portrayals of that terrible disease of memory loss by Amitabh Bachchan in Black and Anupam Kher in Maine Gandhi No Nahin Mara got lavish recognition.

Ironically the honour came a year late when people had almost forgotten the judicially -challenged 53rd National awards for the year 2005. It almost feels like sweet revenge. In the same week that Anil Kapoor released his Gandhi film, Anupam Kher won the special Jury's award for his performance as the demented Gandhian in Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara.

It was Kher's decision to do his own Gandhi film which ousted him from the Mahatma’s role in his best buddy Anil Kapoor's Gandhi My Father. Speaking from his parents' home in Simla, Anupam said, "It feels good to be awarded for a film that I produced and which is so close to my heart. This project caused so many heartburns…if you know what I mean. I'm sure there're people out there who are not very happy with my victory in a Gandhian film. All I can say to them is, Gandhiji Ki Jai Ho."

Victorious on a far less aggressive note is Amitabh Bachchan who has waited patiently for the delayed verdict on this year's National awards. Says the Big B, "This is my third National award. I had won my first National award for my very first film K A. Abbas' Saat Hindustani. The second was for Agneepath. I feel honoured humbled and happy that the third National award is for Black a film which I hold very close to my heart." However there's some puzzlement over Black getting the National award for best Hindi film since a large portion of the dialogues are in Hindi.

Says Sanjay Leela Bhansali, "Since I'm a near-stranger to the National awards. I'm very very happy to get whatever the jury decided to give me. Black was a very special film. And the fact Amitji has got the National award for best actor makes it all the more special. I only wish Rani Mukherjee had also won. Though I'm sure Sareekaji is stupendous in Parzania, Rani, I feel, is extraordinary in Black. Such a performance cannot be encored."

The lead actor in this year's National award winner for best film is over the moon. "I can't believe my lucky streak. First the retrospective in Toronto. Now Kaal Purush wins the National award for best film. It’s a great honour because it was my most challenging work to date. I had to learn a special strain of Bengali for the part and get into role that required severe acclimatization," says Rahul Bose who seems to have suddenly found superstardom in Bengal.

Rahul's new Bengali film Anuranon with Raima Sen is running to packed houses in Kolkata.

"Can you believe it?" laughs Rahul. "Now that I've found fame in Bangla maybe Buddhadeb Dasgupta's Kaal Purush will finally release. Though the Bengali spoken in the two films is very different."