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SINGAPORE: Corrupt cop flick “Dabangg” has taken best film honours at a glitzy Bollywood awards night, beating Shah Rukh Khan's “My Name is Khan” which had to settle for the best actor and director accolades.
The Zee Cine Awards 2011, held in Singapore on Friday night, also saw Salman Khan's Dabangg awarded the best screenplay and song, at a ceremony where the winners are determined by public vote.
Producer Arbaaz Khan said the film was made after “a chance meeting once with (director) Abhinav Kashyap,” and described himself and Kashyap as “two people with a lot of desperation to succeed and prove ourselves.”
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan said he was honoured to receive the best actor prize for his role as an autistic man out to tell the US president that he is not a terrorist, after his son is killed in a racially-motivated attack.
“I'm very honoured, I'm very thrilled,” he told a rapturous 5,000 strong audience who paid up to Sg$997 ($775) for a ticket to the glitzy ceremony and cheered whenever he came onstage.
“I promise everyone here that I will work very, very hard and make sure that... at the end of my life and at the end of my career, I am deserving of all that you have given me,” he added.
The film's director Karan Johar said he was also honoured to receive his best director prize.
“It feels very gratifying and heartening to receive this reward for a film like My Name is Khan, which I believe is possibly the most important film I have ever directed,” he said.
The best actress award went to Vidya Balan for her role in “Ishqiya” as the wife of a gang lord who fakes his death to remain in charge of the underworld.
The near four hour long awards ceremony featured Bollywood superstars such as Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan as well as Priyanka Chopra, and dazzled with elaborate sets and energetic dance performances.
The event was held for the first time since 2008, with organizers blaming the global financial crisis for hamstringing their show for the past two years.
Close to five million votes were cast by members of the public to determine the winners, organizers added.
