Bollywood stars are craving for a National Award this year.
Prakash Jha has already predicted that his lead pair, Ranbir Kapoor and Kat, will pick up National Awards for their performances. And Kareena Kapoor has only one clear objective in doing Madhur's Heroine. A source close to the actress says, “She wants to win the National Award come hell or high water'', says a media report.
While Madhur, who has picked up the National Award for Chandni Bar, Page 3 and Traffic Signal, and calls it the Oscars of India, says, “These awards mean the world to me. I definitely feel my stock has gone up having bagged them.''
Aamir Khan, who cold shoulders popular film awards, made it a point to accept the National Award for Taare Zameen Par.
Priyanka Chopra, who won the National Award for her role in Fashion, mentions this acting honour in every personal and professional conversation without fail.
Katrina Kaif and Vidya Balan are hopeful that their names will feature in the nominations for Raajneeti and Ishqiya this year.
From truly competent actors to cardboard cutouts, all the actors are fantasizing about it, says the report.
A trade analyst says, “The National Award is just an ego massage for the actor/filmmaker that gets it. They have no bearings on the box office. Shah Rukh Khan hasn't won a single one so far. He was a close contender for Swades but they overlooked him for some strange reason. Yet there is no denying that he is Bollywood's biggest box office draw.''
National Awards are always shrouded in controversy. Some amount of wheeling-dealing in the corridors of power has helped one veteran filmmaker bag an award in some category or the other, there is also the instance of how these acting honours were deferred one year because of some mud-slinging between disgruntled jury members.
Saif Ali Khan's award for a film like Hum Tum came in for a lot of flak just the way Raveena Tandon's award for Daman did. And when Arjun Rampal picked up his National Award for Best Supporting Actor for Rock On recently, a serious actor joked, “I have hidden my National Awards in the basement now.''
And another actor's cellphone status said, “Awards are like haemorrhoids, sooner or later even the undeserving get it.'' Yet Bollywood continues to be obsessed with India's highest acting honours.
