National Film Awards honour best of Indian cinema

Plus: Gulf talent competition launched; critical comments don't bother Abhishek Bachchan; Mira Nair bemoans Bollywood's busy stars.

The film Paan Singh Tomar tells the tale of a long-forgotten national gold medal-winning athlete, played by Irrfan Khan, centre, who was compelled to become a bandit to survive. Courtesy Aseem Mishra

National Film Awards honour best movies

Paan Singh Tomar was named the Best Feature Film of 2012 at the 60th National Film Awards on Monday. Directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, the biopic also won the Best Actor trophy for Irrfan Khan, who shared the honour with Vikram Gokhale for the Marathi film Anumati. The Best Actress honour went to Usha Jadhav for her performance in Dhag. The awards were presented by the filmmakers Basu Chatterjee, Aruna Raje and Swapan Mullick. The Hindi film Chittagong (by Bedabrata Pain) and the Malayalam movie 101 Chodiyangal (by Sidhartha Shiva) shared the Indira Gandhi Award for the Best Debut Film of a Director. The award for the Best Popular Film was shared by the Bollywood movie Vicky Donor and the Malayalam project Ustad Hotel. Vicky Donor got the Supporting Actor and Actress awards for its stars Annu Kapoor and Dolly Ahluwalia. The best original screenplay nod went to Kahaani, while the adapted screenplay prize was given to OMG: Oh My God! Special Jury awards were each given to Rituparno Ghosh for his Bengali film Chitrangadha and to Nawazuddin Siddiqui for his performances in Kahaani, Gangs of Wasseypur, Dekh Indian Circus and Talaash. The young Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra won a special mention for her performance in Ishaqzaade, and so did Tannishtha Chatterjee for Dekh Indian Circus. – IANS

Gulf talent competition is launched

The London-based arts charity The Crossway Foundation has launched its annual Create & Inspire competition. Now on its third year, the initiative identifies and invests in young artists, filmmakers and photographers living in the Gulf. Open to 16- to 25-year-olds from the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the finalists stand the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime "creative expedition" to the UK this August. They'll work with creative professionals to hone their skills and take part in unique collaborations with institutions that include the Tate Modern and the Royal College of Art. For more information, visit www.qataruk2013.com and www.crossway-foundation.org.
– The National staff

Critical comments don’t bother Abhishek Bachchan

Abhishek Bachchan, known for being active with social media, says he's not bothered anymore with negative comments from the public. "Twitter is a public platform and people have the right to express themselves on it freely," the actor told reporters. "If somebody writes an objectionable tweet, then I can block or un-follow the person. That is my decision. Being a public figure, you get a lot of positive and negative tweets. It doesn't bother me." Bachchan is busy shooting Dhoom 3: Back in Action. His other films, Happy New Year and Dostana 2, are currently in post-production. – IANS

Mira Nair bemoans busy Bollywood stars

The filmmaker Mira Nair laments the fact that the crème de la crème of the Hindi film industry are somewhat hard to pin down. "I would love to work with the stars here but they don't have much time for me – they don't have the dates I want," said the 55-year-old director. "I've worked with Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi, Om Puri – and we made Nana Patekar a star. So I don't look at actors as stars, they just have to be extremely talented." The filmmaker's latest venture, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, based on the novel by Mohsin Hamid, is scheduled for release across India on May 10. – IANS

Jain’s Hindi remake of a blockbuster

The Bollywood producer Ratan Jain, who has bought the rights to the Bengali film Bhooter Bhabishyat, spoke of his plans for a Bollywood remake of the 2012 blockbuster hit. "The film will be directed by Satish Kaushik and we are planning to make it in 3-D," he told reporters. "The cast has not been finalised. All I can say is, the film will begin production in April and will be shot in Mumbai." While details are expected in the coming weeks, rumours are rife that the actress Mahie Gill will take a lead role in the project. – IANS