About 10,000 fans from across the United States, Canada and even the Caribbean
packed the Nassau Coliseum at Long Island for the Bollywood Movie Awards 2007
where Hollywood actor Danny Glover, director Mira Nair and former actress Asha
Parekh were among those honoured.
Bollywood stars who performed at the Saturday night event
included Vivek Oberoi, Arjun Rampal, Bipasha Basu, Urmila Matondkar, Neha Dhupia
and Soha Ali Khan. Mona Singh of 'Jassi' fame was the MC.
Glover, whose
film credits include 'Lethal Weapon' franchise and whose performance in the
title role of HBO movie "Mandela" earned him an Emmy nomination, was given the
award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Entertainment. Nair, the maker of
crossover films like "The Namesake" and "Monsoon Wedding", was given the Pride
of India Award.
Parekh, who served as the chairperson of the Indian
censor board after retiring as an actress, was given Lifetime Achievement
Award.
Other awards included: Best film: "Lage Raho Munnabhai"; Best
Director: Rajkumar Hirani for "Lage Raho..."; Best Actor: Hrithik Roshan (in
absentia) for "Dhoom 2"; Best Actress: Bipasha Basu for "Corporate", Best Actor
in Supporting Role: Vivek Oberoi for "Omkara"; Best Actress in Supporting Role:
Kirron Kher for "Rang De Basanti". .
The audience that packed the Nassau
Coliseum had, however, come to be entertained and they were not disappointed.
Macho man Arjun Rampal had them on their feet with his chartbusters. Vivek
Oberoi had the women swooning with his romantic numbers. Bipasha Basu and Urmila
Matondkar performed to a medley of their songs.
An international touch to
the event was provided by Canada-born pop star Raghav, who performed his hits
'Angel Eyes' and 'Can't Get Enough', Pakistani singer-actress Shahida Mini and
Caribbean crooner Rick Ramdehal.
Bollywood Group, an entertainment
company headed by Kamal Dandona, organizes the annual awards ceremony.
"NRIs carry and promote our culture, values and tradition in the most
meaningful manner. Their love for India's culture is visible by the success of
today's event," Dandona said after the event.
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