~tasha~
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Kangana has won the best actress award at the prestigious Asian Festival of First Films.
"This is my life's first award and that too in Singapore where I was pitched against three other names," says Kangana who won the award for her performance in Gangster.
The nominees for this prestigious award also included Aditi Rao Hydari for her moving portrayal of a vulnerable devdasi in debutant director Sharda Ramanathan's Tamil film Sringaram.
The festival acquires a special significance in the light of the fact that films from all over the world compete for this honour. The jury members this year who chose Kangana included Hong Kong actress Cecilia Yip, American writer-producer James Hart, British filmmaker Michael Yorke and India's own Ketan Mehta. Says Kangana, "I'm very happy. This isn't only my first award, it's also an international award and I'm the first Indian actress to get it."
A few days from now, Kangana will have her second award at the GIFA in Kuala Lumpur waiting for her. "Unfortunately I couldn't be there at Singapore. By the time I found out and it was too late to get a visa," she says. Apparently Vishesh Films hadn't sent the Gangster entry to the festival until filmmaker Kunal Kohli pointed out the possibility of Kangana winning the best actress award. Kangana will now leave for Kuala Lumpur where she'll receive an award for best debutante.
~tasha~
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B'wood rookies that dazzled 2006
IANS
Posted Sunday , December 24, 2006 at 09:36
Updated Sunday , December 24, 2006 at 09:46
New Delhi: If 2005 launched Vidya Balan, then this year is definitely for Kangana Ranaut, who has emerged as one of the most promising newcomers in filmdom.
In the last few years, Bollywood has opened its doors wide for newcomers, and the older crop of actors has also happily made way for the young brigade.
As a result, new faces have flooded the silver screen. The numbers were the highest in 2005, with Shiney Ahuja and Vidya leading the young pack.
This year, however, there are fewer new faces and out of them Kangana Ranaut is shining and on strong firmament.
Here are some of the new faces who debuted in 2006:
Kangana Ranaut: She made her debut with Mahesh Bhatt's controversial flick Gangster - A Love Story, based on mobster Abu Salem's affair with Bollywood actress Monica Bedi. Kangana played Monica's part and critics raved about her performance.
She bagged the best actress award at the Asian Festival Of 1st Films in Singapore and also walked away with the best debutant female trophy at the Global Indian Film Awards (GIFA) in Kuala Lumpur for the film.
She was later seen in Woh Lamhe, a film about Mahesh Bhatt and late actress Parveen Babi. The film worked because of Kangana's brilliant performance.
The film's success proved she is not a one-film wonder. The actress is now looking forward to her role in Shakalaka Boom Boom, releasing next year.
Upen Patel: British born model-turned-actor debuted with Subhash Ghai's thriller 36 China Town alongside Shahid Kapur and Kareena Kapoor.
Performance wise, he didn't have much to do in the film. However, he hogged the limelight for his metrosexual looks. He walked away with the best male debut of the year at the GIFA.
His minus point is his heavy English accent. In spit of that, the directors showed interest in him and in 2007 he is to feature in Suneel Darshan's Shakalaka Boom Boom and Vipul Shah's Namastey London.
Allice Patten: This British actress made an impressive debut in Rang De Basanti, one of the most successful and talked about films of 2006 that is also India's official entry to the Oscars. She gave a brilliant performance despite the language barrier.
~tasha~
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For Bollywood, it was the year of RDB, Kangana
Calcutta News.Net
Sunday 24th December, 2006 (IANS)
If I've to look back at 2006, I'd remember it as the year of 'Rang De Basanti' (RDB) and Kangana Ranaut. Both startled the hell out of me.
When I saw Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's RDB, I couldn't move. I had to force my hand to punch his numbers, and then I blabbered like a schoolboy. Mehra was no stranger to me.
Kangana was. I had never heard of her, didn't know what she looked like. I went to see 'Gangster - A Love Story' with zero expectations. The girl stunned me senseless. Lucky are those who sat on that decisive Friday watching this natural-born actress dip all her senses into every crevice of the human heart.
Like Shabana Azmi, I wanted to ask Kangana: 'Where have you come from?'
Amrita Rao in 'Vivah' and Ayesha Takia in 'Dor' also took me by surprise.
Whereas Shahid Kapur had prepared me for his performance in 'Vivah' as he was extremely accomplished in all his releases so far except 'Deewane Huye Paagal', where no one was allowed to be accomplished. But it was Amrita's fragile elegance that stunned me.
Silly girl, she turned down a plum and powerful role in Govind Nihalani's film that he offered her after 'Vivah'. I just hope she goes into 2007 with hope on her plate.
Three new directors also stumped me this year. Dibakar Banerjee, Saket Chowdhary and, most of all, Nishikant Kamat blew my brains with their first films.
Banerjee, I'm told, is very lazy. He took years to complete 'Khosla Ka Ghosla'. But it doesn't show.
Chowdhary is spunky. He had the guts to not use Mallika Sherawat's sex appeal as a pivotal character in 'Pyaar Ke Side Effects'. Weeks before the release of this romantic comedy, distributors were in two minds - Mallika in clothes? Will not work!
Both 'lazy' Banejree and 'spunky' Chowdhary are now planning sequels to their surprise hits.
I wish there would be a sequel to Marathi director Kamat's 'Dombivli Fast'. I want to know what happens to the wife and children of a working class man who gets shot after creating a moral havoc on the streets of Mumbai.
In his small, Rs.20 million Marathi film, the humble Kamat threw forward several statements. You don't need a fortune to create a phenomenal film. Shooting on authentic locations with authentic actors does the act.
Hats off to actor Sandeep Kulkarni who simply merged into the role of the man who goes berserk after suffering the hefty wages of the humdrum life for years.
Regional cinema remains so neglected that you wonder what would've happened to biggies like 'Don' and 'Baabul' if they had been made in Telugu or Marathi.
The return of Sooraj Barjatya in 'Vivah' and Mallika in 'Pyaar Ke Side Effects', and the advent of a phenomenal new talent called Kangana made my heart crave for more surprises in 2006.
That delight of falling off my seat came to me when I saw little boy Ali Haji, who played Aamir Khan and Kajol's son in 'Fanaa'; when I saw Hrithik Roshan glide across the dance floor as though it was the ocean in 'Dhoom 2'; When I heard Konkona Sen Sharma's conversational voice as she grappled with the garbled grammar of a schizophrenic mind in '15 Park Avenue'; when I saw Lisa Ray's limpid eyes stare in the placid water in Deepa Mehta's 'Water'; when I saw Sushmita Sen rip the screen apart with her monstrous monologues in 'Chingaari'; when I heard Kavita Seth sing 'Mujhe mat roko mujhe yaar ke ghar jaane do' for Kangana as she plummeted to a welcome death in 'Gangster'; when I heard Richa Sharma tear the soundtrack into sublime smithereens with 'Baabul mora' in the disappointing film of that name.
When Aamir broke down in Alice Patten's kitchen in 'Rang De Basanti', I cried too. I knew this guy once. Now he's a different person.
Everything changes. The world around us is a cauldron of simmering discontent. The movies and performances we enjoyed last year were very different from the films this year. And 2007 will be even more different.
And if there's a contradiction to Sanjay Dutt playing Munnabhai and standing in a courtroom facing serious charges, then I guess we need to realise characters outlive the actors who play them.
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