An evening with the Black Lady

CHENNAI: They came, they saw and conquered the hearts of their fans by holding aloft the Black Lady at the star-studded 61st Idea Filmfare awards ceremony here on Saturday.
The evening brought together top stars of south Indian film industry, Kamal Hasan, AR Rahman, Sumalatha Ambareesh, Ragini, Tamanna, Nayantara, Mahesh Babu, Sanjanaa, Lakshmi Manchu and many others, on a single platform.
It also saw eight of the 10 award winners from the Kannada film industry personally receive the Black Lady. While Prem and Achuth Kumar were receiving the award for the second time, Amulya, Arjun Janya, Pawan Kumar, Poornachandra Tejaswi, Kalyani, Siddu Kodipura and N S Rajkumar held it aloft for the first time.
For Ragini Dwivedi, who attended the Filmfare function for the first time, it was a memorable event. "It is an honour to be present at the event. To be a face of the Kannada film industry at such evenings is something really great. Thank you, Filmfare,'' Ragini said, after presenting an award to Mynaa producer NS Rajkumar.
There was an emotional moment when Amulya remembered her father after receiving the award (Best Actor-Female). At a loss for words, she paused after saying: "Pappa, this award is for you." Her mother sitting among the audience was seen struggling to hold back her tears.
Actor Shruthi Hariharan and Parul Yadav set the stage on fire with their brilliant dance performances. The numbers Thinbedakammi... (Lucia) and Pyarge aagbuttaithe... (Govindayanamaha) were their favourite selections for the dance.
For playback singer Kailash Kher, it was a memorable event as he received the award for a Tamil movie. When someone from the audience told him that he should get it for Kannada next time, he said, "Let us hope so.''
Legendary actress Rekha received an overwhelming response when she went on the stage to present the lifetime achievement award to Jayabharathi, veteran Malayalam actress.
For Prem, Chennai seems to be the lucky place as he received the Filmfare award for the second time (best actor-male) for his performance in Charminar. "I had won my first Filmfare seven years ago for Nenapirali at the same place. I am holding the Black Lady for the second time in Chennai."
As the clock struck 12, it was time for awardees and guests to celebrate the occasion with an after-party that went on till early morning.