HIndie Awards 2017: Best Ensemble Cast

Best Ensemble Cast 

in a Motion Picture

Sometimes it takes more than a great individual performance to make a great film, it takes a slew of good performances to do so as well.

It takes those shining lead super stars,

Their able and strong supporting cast,

And the numerous surprisingly effective small actors and roles.

Above all else, it takes a casting director to find and mould the right talents for the right script.

There were many well cast films this year that didn't necessarily rely on star power but a collective of in tune and highly motivated actors, among those that missed the main cut are;

Dhanak-Feature two solid performances from its young leads, Dhanak was ably made the better by the number of quirky characters Chotu and Pari meet through their uplifting journey with a plethora of well knows players leaving their mark from the always dependable Vipin Sharma to the surprising Raghuram of Roadies.

Parched-Though very much focused on its three leads, the men around them were an equal thrill to watch as actors in surprising roles provided a profound outlook on the multi faceted view of men in a patriarchal society. Particular stand out being Adil Hussain as a hunky mysterious cave dwelling saint.

Dear Zindagi-The focus on its two stars might make people forget that the low key supporting cast was an absolute delight on screen, especially Alia Bhatt's group of friends and string of lovers made famous by fun cameos.

Phobia-This might be an unexpected one considering that Phobia has Radhika Apte in a towering performance that whisky away the whole film, but she had a cast of three to four smart actors ably hitting the right notes and strides towards a crazy conclusion specifically former HIndie Award nominee Satyadeep Mishra in a genre shifting role.

And now onto the nominees...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Breakthrough Director

Best Breakthrough Director

This year alone has proven one thing, it is new and rookie filmmakers that are pushing the envelope  on India's filmmaking, as is apt for the future.

Of the ten films nominated for best picture this year in both categories, five of the filmmakers are near newbies looking to leave their own stamp. Two of the others are filmmakers who've already experienced their own breakthroughs.

It's a showcase that undoubtedly paints a picture of a hopeful future despite what can be considered a disappointing year of films in comparison to the rest of this past decade.

 Even then these filmmakers are a terrific bunch and some others more, here are honourable mentions and a bit more:

Raja Krishna Menon for Airlift-Despite some pitfalls, Menon's Airlift is made engaging by his ability to hold attention to a scene and create both intense thrills as well as purely melodramatic moments that resonate, nearly saving the film from mediocrity.

Soumendra Padhi for Budhia Singh Born to Run-Though his budget seems curbed to the point of making the film nearly ineffective , Padhi's greatest moment comes when he extracts a fine performance from his young star and stages the big running scene with such precision; the balance of the questions raised creates a scary ambiguity with the film [elaborated later in the screenplay award]

Anirudha Roy Chowdary for Pink-He tries, but the inconsistent tone with which Roy crafts Pink is what lets the film down despite some well created moments of tension.

And now these are the nominees...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Breakthrough Actor [Male]

Best Breakthrough Actor

Male

After the most "prestigious" Hindi film awards this year, a certain star kid [the so called label for an actor churned out from the loins of a yesteryear or current star] stated his utmost disappointment about how he lost the best debut award to a Punjabi film actor who made a stirring debut in his first film and nearly walked away with the whole thing.

The said star kid had issues as the winning actor had already been a long reigning star on top of the Punjabi film industry and it seemed unfair to hand him the debut award. While this debate is questionable, most would question whether the entitled star son was really deserving of the award as he gave a tepid performance in a tepid film.

All said, he had a point just not the mettle to back it up, to be fair despite a well deserved win for the Punjabi mega star, these awards at the end of the day are a complete sham. Though my hypocrisy allows me to state, that if I won one; I'd jump at the chance to go get it [deserved or not] ;)

PS: You can hate me for that statement all you want, filmwalas in Hindi cinema and around the world are a fickle bunch as it is.

But these awards matter, at least to me; somewhere in my small ego mind I imagine I am at least bringing to light those films that didn't get a chance at the big awards due to the lack of big stars despite the fact that they are the best films of the year.

Secondly these awards are not about a debut as such, instead these ones signify awards for breakthrough performers this year.

Not necessarily performances but rather actors who shattered a certain barrier when it comes to the close knit structure of the Hindi film fraternity.

Take for example our previous female award winner; Radhika Apte, as I said, she was far from a debutant in Hindi film and film in general yet with her quantity of quality roles she stood out and managed to prove her mettle on a bigger platform.

And now take for example this man, yes it's agreed; he is a Punjabi megastar and despite his commercial hero appeal he has managed to give some fine performances example his haunting turn in Punjab 1984.

So let's give it up to this not so debutant, breakthrough actor...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Breakthrough Actor [Female]

Best Breakthrough Actor

Female

When we say breakthrough, it does not mean debut necessarily.

The word breakthrough implies someone who has taken the next step in pushing boundaries and reaching a new level of improvement or status in their career, in this case the acting class of filmmaking which is normally shut out for outsiders.

Last year with a quantity full of quality performances Radhika Apte broke new ground in the Indian film industry and last year not only was she one of the best performers but is a double nominee in the leading and supporting drama categories at the HIndie Awards.

Breakthrough could be a debut actor who gives a stirring performance [they could also be nominated elsewhere for this] or it could be an actor whose role and performance brought them into the limelight and the big leagues. Anything and everything.

This year's case is however the former, she's not necessarily a debutant; she worked as a child actor but now makes a full fledged debut in one of the most celebrated films of the year. More importantly she's not alone...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Indian Language Motion Picture

Best Indian Language 

Motion Picture

Here it is, the biggie.

Whether it is at home or around the world, today slowly and steadily Indian cinema is gaining a grand reputation beyond conventions yet within the bounds of what is authentically Indian.

Visaranai went to the Oscars, though it did not crack the final rounds; it gained nice traction and mileage

Chauthi Koot has become a celebrated film at festivals around the world including the Mumbai Film Festival in 2015 [where I managed to catch it]

Equally lauded was Kannada piece Thithi which ended up finally confirming the fact that the winds of change are high on Sandalwood cinema.

Kammatipadam was a bumper hit and a huge showcase was made about it beyond the south, with star actor Dulquer Salman looking like a future prospect of Indian cinema in general.

Cinemawala reminds us that even though the heyday may have passed long ago, there still is rich content and talent in Bengali cinema looking to thrive.

Netflix tapped into the English language Indian market bringing out a fun side to the obscure Q with Brahman Naman

Finally Sairat dominated the box office, where Hollywood constantly trumped big Hindi projects with little substance, Sairat turned out to be a dark horse gem that changed and propelled the face of Marathi cinema.

Each of these films, different languages but one unified thought; they were all great pieces of cinema.

So enough of their praise, and now onto more praise. But before that, some honourable mentions...

Maheshinte Prathikaram [Malyalam]-I missed this one just by a whisker, viewing it just after the nominees were announced. I wont say which of this or Kammatipadam is better, but this was a fun mystery film with Fahad Fasil giving a stellar lead turn.

Iraivi [Tamil]-The also ran, I've said enough on this film so let's just move on.

Ventilator [Marathi]-Family dysfunction isn't reserved for just Hindi cinema, in Priyanka Chopra's maiden venture; a family comes together when their eldest member suffers a stroke and is put on a ventilator. Hilarious without a fault and absolutely wonderfully woven characters.

There is more I'm sure, but this is all for now.

So onto the nominees...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Director [Indian Language]

Best Director

[Indian Language]

Mel Gibson just got a directorial nomination at this years Academy Awards, a well deserved one for his visceral work in Hacksaw Ridge. This is despite his controversial past and anti-Semitic views. 

I'm sorry, I'm just a bit ecstatic. When a filmmaker despite all that is his personal life creates a film worth viewing and at least doesn't overtly or in this case even subtly display his questionable views then there's nothing wrong in applauding the worker, the work and the workmanship if not the person.

I mean to be fair, even despite the obviously Nazi glorifying propaganda Leni Riefenstahl is still a fine filmmaker if not even one of the finest.

That is the power of a filmmaker, regardless of agenda the vision should flourish and flourish such that the essence of cinema remain intact; even when they push a point or make a film for commercial appeal.

The best example being last years winners both Meghna Gulzar [Talvar] and Chaitanya Tamhane [Court]

So whether it was a mainstream Marathi sensation or a specific indictment of the law and order system, these five directors deserve the applause and more...

HIndie Awards: Best Screenplay [Indian Language]

Best Screenplay

[Indian Language]

First and foremost being a writer, this means that this specific post is far more important [except for the other two] then anything else I write.

Being a writer but also an objective viewer of cinema and the industries around film means that writing is far more important then anything else in the movie business.

Yet writers are probably never given the kind of respect that directors command nor the visibility that actors do. We're not as paid as much, we're not even sometimes liked as much; just see the myriad of dredge Hindi cinema churns out every year that disregards the one important thing;

The script.

So for those disrespected and those beloved, here are these superstar writing nominees...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Actor [Male] in a Supporting Role [Indian Language]

Best Actor [Male] in a Supporting Role

[Indian Language]

Here it is, the best actor winner among the bunch.

This year features five performer of a varied school, skill, age and most importantly language.

Each one enhances the film they are in as the ultimate supporting player. So does it really matter who wins, since each one shines in this tough race.

Onto the nominees as we were...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Actor [Female] in a Leading Role [Indian Language]

Best Actor [Female] in a Leading Role

[Indian Language]

In 2017 the exponential increase in roles especially of the leading kind for female actors has been heartening.

We've seen a varied type of roles be created and performed across the board and performers have especially shined in the various languages, not just Hindi.

A source of greatest approval has been the terrific roles written down south especially in hero-centric films, mostly because they rarely appreciate the other side of talents.

Take for example Trisha's role in Kodi, written absolutely well with a stronger arc even than her male co-star in Dhanush. She might not have been talented enough to take it to the next level, but Trisha still should get credit for stepping up to the challenge unlike ever.

As for our nominees?

Well, these ones are just absolutely special...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Actor [Male] in a Leading Role [Indian Language]

Best Actor [Male] in a Leading Role 

[Indian Language]

The supposed big one in any language, in any award show, no matter the better performance; but, I play, fair.

As such the second ranked Indian Language acting award of the night. Last year Basabdatta Chaterjee scored the big win for his subtle, nuanced and sober turn in Bengali love poem Asha Jaoar Majhe.

So who gets it this time round, here are our nominees...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Actor [Female] in a Supporting Role [Indian Language]

Best Actor [Female] in a Supporting Role

[Indian Language]

The first acting award of the year and let me just put it out there, it has been such a phenomenal year of performances that this first one is difficult to judge.

Indeed there will be one winner of five nominees, but there definitely isn't any lose. Each of these actors give a great performance.

Among these nominees we also celebrate a former winner;

The talented thespian Revathi for her turn in a Supporting Role in Drama for Margarita with A Straw.

So anyways, here goes, these are the nominees...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Cinematography [Indian Language]

Best Cinematography

[Indian Language]

The magic of cinema is alive.

Regardless of genre, or budget, the visual grandeur presented by Indian films this year has been rich.

Indeed, cinema is alive.

So let's just get onto this years extraordinary nominees...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Editing [Indian Language]

Best Editing

[Indian Language]

Finding us at Editing are five films with such distinct set of flavours, it is no wonder that Indian cinema as a whole is shining even if major juggernaut Hindi flounders from time to time.

The cinematic language is finding a new lease of life with works that are willing to engage and wholly satisfy especially when pertaining to the simple art of the edit!

So here are the nominees...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Original Score [Indian Language]

Best Original Score

Indian Language

How?

How is it?

That despite half the resources, half the audience and half the accessibility, does Indian Language cinema as a whole trump Hindi Cinema?

Maybe it's because popular cinema has become too big for its britches, as this year shows in the case of every major studio shutting down production [apart from those originated in India]; Hindi cinema is all about the glitz, the glamour and the star power.

There might be some love for content and technicians might flourish, but nothing compared to what is brought here.

Language is flavour, music is flavour and their sweet mixture is what these scores are all about. As I write and think of these, I find it absolutely difficult to decide who wins.

More importantly I find it difficult to think that Hindi cinema gets better than these, that is why a seperate section. Cause in all fairness and kudos to some fine films this year in Hindi, nothing compares to what Tamil, Marathi, Punjabi and etc. Cinema are doing today.

Onto the nominees...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Cinematography

Best Cinematography

After all it's called cinema.

A visual medium bar none, cinema demands visuals that not only stun, excite and attract but at times make meaning of things that are neither said nor easily seen.

From lighting to angles, every part of the work revolved around engaging our visual tastebuds must not only look good and real but also make a wider sense in terms of content.

To some it may seem with the advent of minimal skill and technology that cinematography is becoming an easier or lazier job, but that couldn't be anymore wrong.

Yes some films this year looked absolutely stunning and nothing else.

Yes it has increasingly become obvious that there aren't many innovative ways to show things on screen as there aren't innovative plots on the horizon, to be frank originality in cinema is a myth.

But that doesn't excuse the fact that shooting and visually creating a film is a hell of a difficult job when the actual vision is never even yours to begin with.

So to these cinematographers and more...

Honourable Mentions:

Manu Anand for Fan-Playing between cool and warm lighting, fan makes a case for the inherent duality between its two protagonists and how their merger creates for an identity clash that is wary of the meta commentary at the centre of the film. Barring the overtly silly thriller elements, it is the camera work that probes deeper into the psychological message of the film as well as the persona that is Shah Rukh Khan.

Setu for Dangal-It takes finesse to present a sports film with an absolute rustic appeal as well as slick professionalism and create a subtle scope of change between both worlds. Dangal's cinematography is equally earthy in its earlier portions and a dazzle when the fight scenes hit, allowing for edge of the seat thrills.

Rajeev Ravi for Udta Punjab-Rajeev Ravi being in the honourable mentions section says a lot about our five contenders, yet Punjab's exotic beauty is not only captured with utter pride but the grim and grit behind it is equally played up with ease. More importantly is how like the sound and edit, the visuals create a nice tenuous link between its lead protagonists, bringing their story to their grungy looking violent end.

And now for the nominees...

Satya Rai Nagpaul for Aligarh

There's a quaint yet moody textured feel to how Aligarh is captured, a sense of constant isolation represented within the most wonderful of singular shots of characters specifically of Bajpayee's Professor Siras, even aptly framed at a distance in two/three shots with other actors; like he doesn't belong.

Then at the juxtapose to that is the compact and concrete structure of Aligarh itself, a place and a character of great depth where peering eyes are not far behind and the freedom to do so as one wishes isn't there.

One of the finest moments of the film is when two love making scenes play parallel to one another; the first is a flashback to Siras and his lover, a young rickshaw puller. The other scene is of Deepu and his attractive female boss. Both scenes are well structured and framed, while the former takes place in low lit interiors, the other is framed wide in open exteriors with the bright night sky above. A clear indication of the difference in expression of freedom of both forms of love.

The loneliness, the judgment and the openness all reflect well in the sober and moody hues, creating narrative magic.

Jay Oza for Raman Raghav 2.0

Instead of picking the far grandeous Rajeev Ravi [who was probably also busy with his feature Malyalam directorial debut], with his latest small gritty thriller; Kashyap turns to a young hungry Jay Oza.

And what a choice it is.

Oza imbibes the very ruptured psychology of the characters into a film that on the surface may seem typically dark and brooding, but unravels a myriad of complexities. The camera lingers on Ramanna and Raghavan, building what is essentially a myth of its characters.

There's no extravagance to play on the mind, rather the shades are subtle providing for an absolute sense of realism that just transcends the horror of the sequences and creates for the dour mood, that most complained about but is very much in line with the films harsh realities of evil lurking everywhere.

Mitesh Mirchandani for Neerja

How many times can I speak of Neerja's unrelenting method of creating confinement when it comes to the films cinematic appeal.

Well I shall try again, much of the film as is known takes place within the Pan Am flight that was hijacked and in that sense the cinematography more than all else is about movement, about building tension through action.

This is done so with rhythmic beauty as we chase the characters across the narrow spaces and the camera often finds itself sticking close to the faces of its victims and villains and more importantly its central hero.

One of the nice games pulled off, is in the soft focus the film presents much of Neerja's early escapades as well as the final speech/heroic salute scenes and the tense closes of Neerja struggling with the situation in hand. It's in contrast to the hard darkness reflected in scenes with the terrorists and their actions through the stopped flight.

The cinematography at a level speaks both of the difference in violence and heroics, pulling off a cathartic film about hope and right.

Russell Carpenter for Parched

While Rajasthan is typically presented in all its blazing glory, with the authentic India matching a land of exotica; it is in the interiority of characters where a veteran like Carpenter shines.

It isn't at all surprising that the man who shot probably shot one of the most tender yet erotic scenes in cinema from Titanic, captures that very intensity and humanity ten fold with the characters of Parched. There is a genuine feel that visuals evoke of the pains of their protagonists.

The pronounced pathos of Rani, Lajjo and Bijlee is aptly captured in each characters setting through smartly lit and framed shots. For Rani, this means the wonderful echo of emptiness in love with frames of her stark alone, for Lajjo these are the scenes Parched by a barren womb as lighting brings color of browns and Bijlee's scenes sparkle as the emptiness of her eyes are painted with affection.

The fondness of larger spaces that allow the women to be and the crowded village, designed with a touch of compression illiciting judgement. To the empty nights and warm togetherness of character, framed close with a sense of intimacy.

Carpenter doesn't just make you see Rajasthan like most have done, he makes you feel it; feel the village; feel the characters and their situation. He makes you feel. Is that not what cinema is meant to be after all?

Jayakrishna Gummadi for Phobia

The haunting specter catching Mehek by the throat in Phobia is not her actual fears but the camera itself.

As is typical with most horror films regardless of narrative, the cliche is for the camera to stick close; illicit fear through the claustrophobia of the framing. However in Phobia, Gummadi takes special care of what the character is about and what the film is saying.

So we go wide, we open up despite being confined to one setting. We see how the open spaces are affecting our protagonists. How the fish eye lens crams the outside world into one door hole and how that ironically creates the scariness of a wider world.

How everything goes batshit crazy with alluring lighting playing up the haunting aspects of normal life.

Fear is in our day to day rather than the ethereal and Phobia does well to visualize this and stimulate.

And the Winner is...

Russell Carpenter for Parched!!!

The Big Hollywood man scores the win and Parched gets a second, so that's that for the technical awards!

Up Next: The HIndie Indian film awards, don't call them regional and surprise surprise, we start with the technical section :D

'Nuff Said, 

Aneesh Raikundalia

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Production Design

Best Production Design

2017 might already have seen its Production Design award winner for the next year, with the release of the trailer of the much anticipated Rangoon, Vishal Bhardwaj's film looks dazzling and despite ropey vfx at this point; seems to bring an aesthetical authenticity to a dazzling Bombay as well as the World War II.

As for this year, it's a tough race with some films already picking up steam and other here seeking their next award or even first. So let's go...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Costume Design

Best Costume Design

Costuming and fashion are so vital to the show business, that the glam quotient of standard films [those not beholden to a period or milieu] manage to steal the limelight.

I mean how gorgeous was Aishwarya Rai in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, it's not just her looks though but also the way she is presented in all her glory.

Then we have costumes that just don't know what they are doing, not only don't they feel like they don't belong but rather distract and are used in such a silly manner. A prime example being this years funniest film; Mohenjo Daro.

As mentioned last year, costumes are important in film as they act as a second skin for an actor. A layer to allow them the easy passage of going from star/celebrity to character.

So here goes...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Makeup and Hairstyling

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

This is another new award added to the season, one which I am not so good at judging; so forgive me.

There isn't much to say here, except hair and makeup is important to give us a visual sense of character even in the simplest of touches.

A prime example of this, is one of the Best Picture nominees; Waiting.

While an absolutely astounding film and deserving of its nomination, considering the situation of the character and the sober surroundings and cast; it is a bit distracting to see Kalki Koechlin's character so dolled up as she is especially when is comes to her makeup and even perfectly touched up hair especially the condition her character is in.

This might seem like a small issue and doesn't overall affect the film or her performance, but it is a point of contention as to why makeup and hairstyling are important in character building situations as they are in making glamorous cinema.

So onto the nominees...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Film Editing

Best Film Editing

In their latest insightful article Indiewire highlights the difference between film, direction and editing when it comes to the movie awards season, it's a hard line to judge as generally the final edit of the film is the very vision of a director and that same vision by default is a film.

Yet apart from external factors to consider when thinking of the differences between an editor, director and the final product, there are also internal matters to solve.

Last years best editor winner Srikar Prasad [Talvar] never once met his director Meghan Gulzar [whom also went onto win best director], this external issue of physical communication would have by any means despite technological advances caused some information between the two to be lost in translation. It's what both gave the film a subjective heart as pontificated by Gulzar's investment in the case and a rather emotionless objectivity in perspective thanks to Prasad's typical sharp cutting.

The internal factor is how far an editor is willing to go to improve the directors work in line with his/her vision.

Editors are storytellers and in that form the editing table is nothing less than another place where the final draft of the story is recreated. They bookend the writers work in perfect form.

Editors are perseveres with an objective perspective on making a film the best it can be, by that definition they don't just cut to reduce time but to refine it within the films structure and bring out the perfect pacing [easier said than done]. They enhance the director's good and promptly snip of the bad.

Editors are observers, they know when to cut and what to cut; this is vital when they deal with actors performances. We might give all the accolades to the brilliance of certain performers and their characters, but it is editors who play behind them to make sure the best is found even amidst the worst. They define the greatness of actors with ease.

So onto the editors that did this and so much more in 2016...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Sound Editing

Best Sound Editing

Sound Editing is the process of selecting and bringing together the sound elements such as Foleys and effects of a film to be processed eventually for mixing.

As with the last award, I will once again point out that sound is by far my weakest of studies as a filmmaker and thus if I do not get this right, do bear with me.

Since this is a new award that I am unsure of, let's get straight to it...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Sound Mixing

Best Sound Mixing

Sound Mixing is basically the practice in the post production of a film, where in the collective types of sounds from the score, to dialogues, music, silence, foley sounds and effects to be merged together through the manipulation of volume, source signal, frequency and panoramic position in order to achieve a flawless and smoothly flowing collective sound to the final picture.

While Sound is probably my weakest side as a filmmaker, I'm trying level best to work it out and thus the introduction of this new award with a full slate of nominees. If I do make a mistake however, do correct me or let it slide.

Anyways in this case there wont be any honourable mentions, instead let's get it on...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Original Song

Best Original Song

Do I have to say it again?

And again?

Well here goes, Music is the centre piece of Hindi cinema and it will remain so for years, even though somewhat sadly the lip-sync song seems to be on its last knees.

Anyways without songs, Hindi cinema just wouldn't feel right no matter what anyone says.

And for these films it adds double, so let's not waste time and here are the honourable mentions;

Jag Ghoomeya, Sultan-The heartthrob romantic track that completely encapsulate what and why Sultan is about and that at the end of the day it is a romantic film. Despite all his bad moves and downfall, this is the moment that endears you to Sultan thanks to an affable performance by Salman Khan.

Haat Mullah, Jugni-The energetic duet brims with passion and sensation, in its spark creating the very purity that brings Vibs and Mastana together and ironically the very reason why the moment should be left alone and not extended. Makes you see the other side of what the drive of music does for the absolutely goofy Mastana.

Just go To Hell Dil, Dear Zindagi-A blasting outcry of pain but spirit and who else but Sunidi Chauhan to sing it.

Jeete Hain Chal, Neerja-Hopeful and powerful just like its titular character, this song defines the very spirit of Neerja Bhanot and her absolute bravery

Saathi Re, Kapoor and Sons-The ode to the pains of family, the loss of time and the grief over a loved one, absolutely painful. If you don't shed a tear during this one, you're dead [just kidding].

The Rest of the Udta Punjab album-Fun, rocking and tunes that are just worth listening to on a loop. Ikk Kudi sadly isn't an original song, so it doesn't make the list; but Shahid Mallaya's rendition makes you realize just what our unnamed Alia Bhatt means to Tommy Singh.

The Soundtrack of Sairat-Simply sublime and each song is used as an intelligent character driven piece, a wonderful throwback to how mainstream cinema worked at one point. If only I had broken my rules and nominated this despite language differences.

I could go on and on, but if I'm forgetting anything please forgive me...

HIndie Awards 2017: Best Original Score

Best Original Score

Whether it's a good or bad year in Hindi Cinema, music will always flourish. This year saw a plethora of great scores that underlined not only the thematic value of each films narrative but also provided a distinct reflection on the emotion of particular moments without being overtly manipulative.

In this case silence has also come out as a stirring tool.

As important as songs are in Hindi cinema, these days scores are becoming extremely important in echoing things in a much more sophisticated manner.

To celebrate that, let's have a look at these honourable mentions;

Neerja-Hauntingly melodious yet very powerful and stirring, a highlight of the titular characters heroism and her tragic bittersweet fate.

Phobia-At times a bit too overpowering, this is still a classic horror ensemble that rivets as much as it creates a mood of darkness

Udta Punjab-It might be overpowered by its music, but Udta's spectacle is its score specifically how it melds together the haunted Tommy Singh and "Mary Jane" building to their eventual coming together.

Now onto the nominees...

HIndie Awards 2017

HIndie Awards 2017

Final Nominees List

I'm baaaaccckkkkk!

The HIndie Awards official third edition is back to entertain and fans you better prepared for a hell of a ride as this hasn't been the absolutely best year for Hindi cinema, which ironically means a lot of varied nominees for varied films.

More importantly the year welcomes proper look at technical awards, including a full slate of nominees.

Indian cinema on the other hand has absolutely flourished and there's an increased slate of films from around India to celebrate.

So let's get this party started...

HIndie Award for Best Motion Picture (Drama)	HIndie Award for Best Motion Picture (Comedy/Musical/Romantic)
Sunil Lulla and Viki Rajani for Phobia [EROS International]	Hiroo Johar, Apoorva Mehta and Karan Johar for Kapoor and Sons [Fox STAR Studios]
Sunil Lulla and Shailesh R Singh for Aligarh [EROS International]	Gauri Khan, R Balki and Karan Johar for Dear Zindagi [Red Chillies Entertainment]
Priti Gupta and Manish Mundra for Waiting [Drishyam Films]	Anand L Rai, Ajay G Rai and Alan Mcalex for Nil Battey Sanata [EROS International]
Ajay Devgn, Aseem Bajaj, Rohan Jagdale, Gulab Singh Tanwar and Leena Yadav for Parched [Shivalaya Entertainment]	Nagesh Kukunoor, Elahe Hiptoola and Manish Mundra for Dhanak [PVR Pictures]
Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Aman Gill, Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Vikas Bahl and Sameer Nair for  Udta Punjab [Balaji Motion Pictures]	Shefali Bhushan, Manas Malhotra and Karan Grover for Jugni [PVR Pictures]
HIndie Award for Best Director	HIndie Award for Best Cinematography
Nagesh Kukunoor for Dhanak	Satya Rai Nagpaul for Aligarh
Abhishek Chaubey for Udta Punjab	Jay Oza for Raman Raghav 2.0
Nitesh Tiwari for Dangal	Mitesh Mirchandani for Neerja
Hansal Mehta for Aligarh	Russell Carpenter for Parched
Shakun Batra for Kapoor and Sons	Jayakrishna Gummadi for Phobia
HIndie Award for Best Drama Screenplay	HIndie Award for Best Comedy/Musical/Romantic Screenplay
Anu Menon, James Ruzicka and Atika Chauhan for Waiting	Shakun Batra and Ayesha Dhillon for Kapoor and Sons
Apurva Asrani and Ishani Banerjee for Aligarh	Abhishek Sharma for Tere Bin Laden: Dead or Alive
Pavan Kirpalani, Pooja Ladha Surti and Arun Sukumar for Phobia	Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, Neeraj Singh, Pranjal Choudhary and Nitesh Tiwari for Nil Battey Sanata
Soumendra Padhi for Budhia Singh Born To Run	Nagesh Kukunoor for Dhanak
Leena Yadav and Supratik Sen for Parched	Gauri Shinde for Dear Zindagi
HIndie Award for Best Actor (Male) in A Leading Role-Motion Picture Drama	HIndie Award for Best Actor (Male) in A Leading Role-Motion Picture Comedy/Romantic/Musical
Naseeruddin Shah as Shiv Kumar for Waiting	Arvind Swamy as Nitin Swaminathan for Dear Dad
Shahrukh Khan as Aryan Khanna/Gaurav Chandna for Fan	Ranbir Kapoor as Ayan Senger for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Aamir Khan as Mahavir Singh Phogat for Dangal	Siddhant Behl as Mastana for Jugni
Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Ramanna for Raman Raghav 2.0	Vicky Kaushal as Dilsher for Zubaan
Manoj Bajpayee as Prof. Ramchandra Siras for Aligarh	Fawad Khan as Rahul Kapoor for Kapoor and Sons
HIndie Award for Best Actor (Female) in A Leading Role-Motion Picture Drama	HIndie Award for Best Actor (Female) in A Leading Role-Motion Picture Comedy/Romantic/Musical
Kalki Koechlin as Tara Deshpande for Waiting	Sughanda Gharg as Vibhavari 'Vibs' for Jugni
Tannishta Chatterjee as Rani for Parched	Anushka Sharma as Alizeh Khan for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Sonam Kapoor as Neerja Bhanot for Neerja	Swara Bhaskar as Chanda Sahay for Nil Battey Sanata
Alia Bhatt as "Mary Jane" for Udta Punjab	Hetal Gada as Pari for Dhanak
Radhika Apte as Mehak Deo for Phobia	Alia Bhatt as Kaira for Dear Zindagi
HIndie Award for Best Actor (Male) in A Supporting Role-Motion Picture Drama	HIndie Award for Bes Actor (Male) in A Supporting Role-Motion Picture Comedy/Romantic/Musical
Ashish Vidyarthi as Vishnu for Bollywood Diaries	Piyush Mishra as ACP Usman Afridi for Happy Bhag Jayegi
Jim Sarbh as Khalil for Neerja	Pankaj Tripathi as Principal Shrivastava for Nil Battey Sanata
Manoj Bajpayee as Biranchi Das for Budhia Singh Born To Run	Shahrukh Khan as Dr. Jehangi 'Jug' Khan for Dear Zindagi
Salim Diwan as Rohit for Bollywood Diaries	Rishi Kapoor as Amarjeet Kapoor/Dadu for Kapoor and Sons
Rajkumar Rao as Deepu Sebastian for Aligarh	Sikander Kher as David Dosomething/David Chaddha for Tere Bin Laden: Dead or Alive
HIndie Award for Best Actor (Female) in A Supporting Role-Motion Picture Drama	HIndie Award for Best Actor (Female) in A Supporting Role-Motion Picture Comedy/Romantic/Musical
Amruta Subhash as Lakshmi for Raman Raghav 2.0	Sadhana Singh as Bibi Saroop for Jugni
Radhika Apte as Lajjo for Parched	Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Saba Taliyar Khan for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Shabana Azmi as Rama Bhanot for Neerja	Tabu as Begum Hazrat Jaan for Fitoor
Surveen Chawla as Bijlee for Parched	Ratna Patak Shah as Sunita Kapoor for Kapoor and Sons
Kirti Kulhari as Falak Ali for Pink	Riya Shukla as Apeksha 'Apu' Sahay for Nil Battey Sanata
HIndie Award for Best Breakthrough Actor (Male)	HIndie Award for Best Breakthrough Actor (Female)
Diljit Dosanjh as Sartaj Singh for Udta Punjab	Fatima Sana Shaikh as Geeta Phogat for Dangal
HIndie Award for Best Breakthrough Director	HIndie Award for Best Indian Language Motion Picture
Anu Menon for Waiting	Prem Menon for Kammatipaadam [Malayalam]
Ali Abbas Zafar for Sultan	Dhanush and Vetrimaaran for Visaranai [Tamil]
Ashwini Iyer Tiwari for Nil Battey Sanata	Kartikeya Narayan Singh for Chauthi Koot [Punjabi]
Ram Madhvani for Neerja	Pratap Reddy and Sunmin Park for Thithi [Kannada]
Pavan Kirpalani for Phobia	Steve Barron, John Herbert and Celine Loop for Brahman Naman [English]
Leena Yadav for Parched	Nittin Keni and Nikhil Sane for Sairat [Marathi]
Shefali Bhushan for Jugni	Shrikant Mohta and Mahendra Soni for Cinemawala [Bengali]
HIndie Award for Best Director in An Indian Language Motion Picture	HIndie Award for Best Screenplay in An Indian Language Motion Picture
Vetrimaaran for Visaranai	Karthik Subharaj for Iraivi
Nagraj Manjule for Sairat	Naman Ramachandran for Brahman Naman
Gurvinder Singh for Chauthi Koot	Eregowda and Raam Reddy for Thithi
Q for Brahman Naman	Waryam Singh Sandhu and Gurvinder Singh for Chauthi Koot
Karthik Subharaj for Iraivi	Nagraj Manjule and Avinash Ghadge for Sairat
HIndie Award for Best Actor (Male) in a Leading Role-Indian Language Motion Picture	HIndie Award for Best Actor (Female) in a Leading Role-Indian Language Motion Picture
Dulquer Salman as Krishnan for Kammatipaadam	Ritika Singh as Ezhil Madhi for Irudhi Suttru
SJ Surya as Arul Dass for Iraivi	Kamalinee Mukherjee as Yazhini for Iraivi
Nana Patekar as Ganpat Belwalkar for Natsamrat	Amala Paul as Shanti Gopal for Amma Kanakku
Vijay Sethupati as Michael for Iraivi	Rinku Rajguru as Archana 'Archie' Patil for Sairat
Shashank Arora as Naman for Brahman Naman	Anjali as Ponni for Iraivi
HIndie Award for Best Actor (Male) in a Supporting Role-Indian Language Motion Picture	HIndie Award for Best Actor (Female) in a Supporting Role-Indian Language Motion Picture
Samuthirakani as Muthuvel for Visaranai	Mumtaz Sorcar as Laxmi for Irudhi Suttru
Paran Bandhopadhyay as Pranabendu Das for Cinemawala	Revati as Dr. Nandhini for Amma Kanakku
Vinayakan as Ganga for Kammatipaadam	Shaun Romy as Anitha for Kammatipaadam
Vikram Gokhale as Rambhau for Natsamrat	Sindhu Murthy as Ash for Brahman Naman
Bobby Simha as Jagan for Iraivi	Pooja Devariya as Malarvizhi for Iraivi
HIndie Award for Best Cinematography [Indian Language]	HIndie Award for Best Editing [Indian Language]
Madhu Neelakantan for Kammatipaadam	Kishore Te for Visaranai
S Ramalingam for Visaranai	Manas Mittal for Brahman Naman
Sivakumar Vijayan for Iraivi	John Zimmerman and Raam Reddy for Thithi
Sudhakar Reddy Yakanti for Sairat	Bhupesh Sharma for Chauthi Koot
Soumik Haldar for Cinemawala	Ajithkumar for Kammatipaadam
HIndie Award for Best Original Score [Indian Language]	HIndie Award for Best Ensemble Cast in A Motion Picture
Santhosh Narayan for Iraivi	Panchami Ghavri for Kapoor and Sons
Iain Cooke for Brahman Naman	Mukesh Chhabra for Dangal
Ajay-Atul for Sairat	Honey Trehan for Udta Punjab
GV Prakash Kumar for Visaranai	Jogi for Pink
Indraadip Das Gupta for Cinemawala	Mukhesh Chhabra for Raman Raghav 2.0
HIndie Award for Best Production Design	HIndie Award for Best Costume Design
Amardeep Behl for Parched	Maxima Basu for Dangal
Laxmi Keluskar for Nil Battey Sanata	Pia Benegal for Aligarh
Satyen Chowdhury for Phobia	Theia Tekchandaney for Neerja
Laxmi Keluskar and Sandeep Meher for Dangal	Ashima Belapurkar for Parched
Anna Ipe and Aparna Sud for Neerja	Veera Kapur for Pink
HIndie Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling	HIndie Award for Best Film Editing
Sailesh Pawar and Namrata Soni for Neerja	Aarti Bajaj for Raman Raghav 2.0
Vikram Gaikwad, Jogender Gupta, Nanao Soyam and Avan Contractor for Dangal	Shivkumar V. Panicker for Kapoor and Sons
Milind Chavan and Amina for Aligarh	Megha Sen for Udta Punjab
Rajendra Sharma for Tere Bin Laden: Dead or Alive	Pooja Ladha Surti for Phobia
Praveen Kumar and Gurpratap Singh for Udta Punjab	Monisha R Baldawa for Neerja
HIndie Award for Best Sound Editing	HIndie Award for Best Sound Mixing
Vivek Sachidanand and Jyoti Chetia for Phobia	Justin Jose for Kapoor and Sons
Vinit D'Souza, Jyoti Chetai and Robinkutty for Raman Raghav 2.0	Debobrat Chhalia, Prabhal Mansingh Pradhan and Gunjan Augustine for Neerja
Anirban Borthakur and Subhash Sahu for Neerja	Sanil PK for Phobia
Kunal Sharma and Anuroop Kukreja for Udta Punjab	Sai Nathan for  Raman Raghav 2.0
Ryan Juggler and Anthony Prochaska for Parched	Anil Radhakrishnan and Justin Jose for Udta Punjab
HIndie Award for Best Original Song	HIndie Award for Best Original Score
"Da Da Dasse", Amit Trivedi with Kanika Kapoor and Babu Haabi for Udta Punjab	Ram Sampath for Raman Raghav 2.0
"Kaari Kaari", Shantanu Moitra with Qurat-ul-Ain-Balouch for Pink	Hitesh Sonik for Parched
"Channa Mereya" Pritam with Amitabh Bhattacharya and Arijit Singh for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil	Shantanu Moitra for Pink
"Behooda" Ram Sampath with Varun Grover and Nayantara Bhatkal for Raman Raghav 2.0	Karan Kulkarni for Aligarh
"Haanikaarak Bapu", Pritam with Amitabh Bhattacharya and Sarwar Khan, Sartaz Khan and Saddy Ahmad for Dangal	Sameer Uddin for Kapoor and Sons

That's one hell of a nominee list, a few things to note;

-Both categories especially Comedy/Musical/Romantic have been particularly weak this year.
-Had there been a Breakthrough Director Award in 2014, Nitesh Tiwari would have definitely been nominated in it for Bhoothnath Returns; here however he is billed as a top five director despite a tepid film.
-Though either of Vidyarthi and Salim Diwan could have been counted as Leading, they both took part in a fairly divided three part stories in Bollywood Diaries making them equal parts supporting. Plus part of me just couldn't have the heart to leave out either one of these fabulous performances. My only cheat!
-Unlike last year, I finally pulled the trigger on seven nominees for Breakthrough Director as there were many fascinating captains of their ships.
-This also allowed seven deserving nominees for the now rightly rebranded Indian Language Films Section. PS: I know English isn't necessarily and Indian Language, but it does count as below national language Hindi in India
-I increased the number of technical awards and nominees as I felt confident in spotting the efforts of such in films this year, including introducing a category for Sound Design and Mixing.

-Most Importantly I was unable to catch these 3 well received films; Kahaani 2, Island City and Moh Maya Money


This is all for now, the Awards show begins with the Technical Categories [Music] soon...


'Nuff Said

Aneesh Raikundalia