Zee Cine Awards: Why It Rocked

Forget the behind-the-scenes drama, the Zee Cine Awards in Dubai last weekend truly rocked. More than anything else, it made a genuine effort to cement the Indo-Pak relations further, which have been on an upswing in the recent times. Simply put, Bollywood and Lollywood [the Lahore film industry] were akin to the ambassadors of peace that night.

Hosting a majestic show not in India, not in Pakistan, but in a third country [Dubai, U.A.E.] and assembling the biggies of Bollywood [Big B, Dharmendra, SRK, the Roshans, Preity Zinta, Urmila, Sushmita Sen, Saif Ali Khan, Randhir and Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapur, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi] and Lollywood [Reema, Resham, Jawed Sheikh, Omar Sharief] was an effort in the right direction and the management of Zee deserves bouquets for it.

The behind-the-scene camaraderie between Indian and Pakistani stars was to be seen to be believed. The stars from the two nations interacted as if two long-lost brothers had met after being separated in childhood. “I sincerely wish we could make movies together,” Jawed Sheikh, who directed the biggest hit of Pakistani cinema a year ago [YEH DIL AAPKA HUWA], told this writer at the after-the-show party at the Hyatt.

That's not all! The Pakistani crowd in the audience cheered every time the camera focussed on the Big B or SRK or Hrithik Roshan, while the Indians went into raptures not over Shekhar Suman or Javed Jaffrey's on-stage frolics, but on stand-up comedian Omar Sharief's witticisms.

And guess who enjoyed Sharief's epigrams the most? None other than the Big B, who seemed to have a rollicking time every time the humorist cracked a joke with a straight face. Omar Sharief was undoubtedly the star of the evening.

The winners, in my opinion –

Karan Johar. The Zee Awards also revealed a whole new facet of Karan's personality: An amazing anchorperson.

Juhi Chawla. Her rendition of the title track of KAL HO NAA HO not just surprised the audience, but even the music composers present at the venue. Sushmita Sen cheered the most!

SRK. The King Khan stole the hearts of the audience when he called a few people on stage, danced with them and showered them with expensive gifts. Though the act was lengthy, the Dubai crowd was not complaining.

The lifetime achievement award to Yash Johar. The act preceding the award presentation – with SRK, Hrithik, Preity and Juhi performing on numbers from Johar Sr.'s films – was fantastic. Karan Johar wept profusely as his father was handed over the trophy. An emotional moment undoubtedly!

And those who missed the bus this time around –
John Abraham. The talented actor, who was the anchorperson for a few segments that evening, looked uncomfortable and ill at ease. Nervous? “Yes, I need to loosen up. But I'll improve,” John admitted to this writer after the show.

Ditto for Katrina Kaif, who looked wooden all through.

Salman Khan's noble intentions of raising funds for a home for the aged went for a toss when the buyer at the auction turned out to be a fake.

Shekhar Suman was reduced to a mere caricature when Omar Sharief and he came on stage together.