Profiling the winners of the 65th Amazon Filmfare awards 2020

Ranveer Singh gives his heart and soul to Gully Boy. His eyes convey the pain, the angst, as well as the elation felt by his character Murad at different points. He raps with intensity and wins you over with his earthy passion. He has played larger-than-life historical characters in films like Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat. But here Ranveer plays a backstreet boy, who aspires to break the glass ceiling. The actor shows his versatility playing the underdog, soaring beyond the suffocation of his circumstance.

She plays the jealous lover to a T. As Safeena in Gully Boy, Alia Bhatt gets the nuances of her character bang on. Volatile yet vulnerable, amorous yet aggressive, you can't take your eyes off this gully girl. She's as unpredictable as they come and is unapologetic about her belligerence. Her flaws, her foibles make her real. As a girl who'd kill for love, she comes out trumps. 

Breaking the stereotype, he doesn't play a common man this time but a blunt IPS officer, who's caught in a casteist culture. He realises he must go beyond the call of duty to fix the mess. Ayushmann Khurrana's gritty performance is a combination of naivete, angst and a burning determination to do the 

right thing whatever the cost. One can see the seething anger in his eyes as he realises that not only is the system corrupt but also that people have accepted it as ‘normal'. 

The two leads are the soul of the film. Like the real-life revolver dadis, Chandro and Prakashi Tomar, Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar are in tandem throughout the film, playing off each other, completing each other's thoughts and words. The camaraderie displayed by their characters is palpable. Both are accomplished enough to put their eyes and body language to ample use. Together they strike a blow against societal patriarchy.

Best Director - Zoya Akhtar (Gully Boy)

Hip hop and rap have become the war cry of artistes hailing from underprivileged backgrounds. The emotions contained in the words are raw and searing. They speak of a life of immense struggle. Zoya Akhtar captures vignettes from the life of performers belonging to the marginalised class and weaves them in a seamless narrative that ebbs and flows with real and riveting emotions.

Best Film (Critics) - Article 15 (Anubhav Sinha) and Sonchiriya (Abhishek Chaubey)

If his Mulk was about how communalism has eroded the fabric of Indian society, Anubhav Sinha's Article 15 points out how the rampant caste system is a cancer that's devouring us . Without mincing words, it states that while we are all equal in the eyes of the Constitution, that ideal exists only on paper. Even those who take an oath to preserve that ideal turn a blind eye to the inhumanities of casteism around them and in effect encourage them.

Set in the '70s during the Emergency, Sonchiriya is a story based in Chambal. The infamous valley has long been the favourite playing field of directors wanting to make Westerns. Sonchiriya isn't just a daaku film but talks about crime, punishment and redemption in equal measure. The baaghis in the film are outlaws but their rebellion is at an existential level as well. The characters in the film are not only running away from law and society but even from themselves.

Gully Boy takes us into a whole new world altogether where youth from the marginalised sections of society explore an art form, having its roots in the Black ghettos of America. This form of protest poetry has found resonance amongst people living in the Mumbai slums and has emerged as the fastest growing underground music scene in India. The film introduced us to the trials and tribulations of these artistes and traced how their environment mirrors in their rap and rhymes.

Best Debut Director - Aditya Dhar - (Uri: The Surgical Strike)

Uri: The Surgical Strike offers a huge dose of patriotism sprinkled with some high-octane action. It also has an emotional chord running through it. It's a dramatised account of the Indian army's retaliation to the 2016 Uri attack. The real-life war film brought out the courage of our valiant soldiers. Great visuals, laudable acting by the entire cast plus a relatable story made it a must watch.

It's brave to make your debut in a film that defies definition but Abhimanyu Dassani went ahead and did just that. The film was part black comedy, part action and part romance. He played a man, who's born with congenital insensitivity to pain. The film revolves around how he copes with life saddled with this handicap. It called for projecting naÔvetÈ and vulnerability and also a belief in the goodness of life. Abhimanyu did all that and more.

She's spunky, sporty and sweet. Ananya Panday makes a confident debut in in SOTY 2 playing a spoilt rich girl, who falls in love with the hunky hero. Yet, she's wise enough to understand it could just be a passing attraction. In Pati Patni Aur Woh, she plays a 20-plus today's girl, who wants to be a successful entrepreneur. Though she gets caught in an emotional turmoil, she doesn't allow it to drag her down. Young Ananya plays both the characters with Èlan. 

Sholay (1975) will forever be counted as one of the top 10 Hindi films ever made. This achievement alone has guaranteed director Ramesh Sippy a permanent place in the pantheon of cinema history. Sholay wasn't just a curry Western, as some people hurriedly describe it. It was a folk tale in microsome, with elements of good and evil having a standoff, with colourful characters moving in and out of the narrative. It celebrated heroic friendship, gave us a cult villain in Gabbar Singh and an emotional story we never tire of watching. Ramesh Sippy also directed the ahead-of-its-times Andaz (1971), which spoke of widow remarriage. Also, the entertaining Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), which turned Hema Malini into a female superstar, thanks to her double role in the comedy. His Shakti (1982) brought stalwarts Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan together on screen for the first time and is cherished for the acting masterclass they represent.

Excellence In Cinema - Govinda

He's the original gully boy. The Virar ka chokra, as he was initially called, came out of nowhere to reign over the hearts of millions. Govinda learnt the ropes the hard way, making a name for himself initially as a dancing star with films like Ilzaam (1986) and Love 86 (1986). His USP was his amiable face, which brought alive the emotions contained in the songs. His big break came when director David Dhawan cast him in Taaqatwar (1989). Co-starring Sanjay Dutt, it was a successful actioner. After that Dhawan and he went on to give a string of hits like Shola Aur Shabnam, Aankhen, Raja Babu, Coolie No 1 and more. He successfully added comedy to his repertoire and never looked back. His brand of earthy humour made him one of the most successful commercial stars of all time. Between '80s -'90s, he was so busy that it was rumoured he lived on the sets, working three-four shifts a day. Decades later too, he enjoys popularity.

Thirty years in this industry and he's still ruling the roost. Manish Malhotra remains the most go-to designer for Bollywood's fashionistas not only for their red carpet appearances but also when they want to sizzle on screen. His creations truly are the stuff of sartorial dreams. Be it casual or celebratory wear, his costumes and designs trigger fashion trends both in India and abroad. He won his first Filmfare Award for Best Costume for Rangeela (1995). Urmila Matondkar's knotted crop tops and hot-shorts from the film found a mass following. He next took the Black Lady home for designing the futuristic costumes for Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Enthiran (2011). This year we honoured him with being the torchbearer of Bollywood fashion for the past 30 years.

This was his debut film and going by his bravura performance, Siddhant Chatrurvedi is clearly an actor to watch out for in the future. To hold one's own in front of Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt is no mean feat. He was natural as a seasoned rapper, teaching the rules of the game to a rookie, even though he had personal demons to deal with. Betraying an electric confidence, he seemed to belong to his milieu. MC Sher is a character that will be long remembered for sure.

The way she spewed ire at her husband, expressing her humiliation for side-lining her for a younger woman, happens to be one of the goose-flesh moments of the film. In that moment, Amruta Subhash made you believe, you were witnessing no-holds-barred husband-wife wrangle in a shantytown. It was a gritty and guttural portrayal of an embittered woman, short-changed by life and her man.

The album of Kabir Singh coasts on melody. Though it has various music directors, there is a thematic cohesiveness. The songs complement each other despite being conceived by different people. It helped that the songs were part of the narrative and not lip-synced by the lead.

The album, a collaboration between various artistes like Divine, Naezy, Sez on the beat, Rishi Rich, Dub Sharma, Jasleen Royal, Ace, Ishq Bector, MC Altaf, MC TodFod, 100 RBH, Maharya, Noxious D, Viveick Rajagopalan, is a tour de force, merging new age hip hop and blues with Bollywood sound. The songs seem to have sprung from the underbelly, rather than created by professionals in a high-tech studio.

Best Lyrics - Divine and Ankur Tewari for Apna Time Aayega (Gully Boy)

The informal song became so popular, it became the anthem of the youth in no time. The aspirations and hopes of a generation were set to verse ñ colloquial and relatable. The back-alley jargon boasted of angst poetry at its best. The art lay in its heart. The hook line, Apna time aayega, has become part of everyday slang. So relevant are the words, that the song would have made a mark even out of the context of the film.

The song is all about the legitimacy of love beyond the ideas of right and wrong. About what it means to truly love someone. Of how lovers view it against how society perceives it. Arijit Singh brings out the paradox through his rendition, the poignancy heightened by his pitch-perfect flair. The lines hold gravitas and he catches it expertly.

Best Playback Singer (Female) Shilpa Rao - Ghungroo (War)

The peppy romantic number, a spin on the classic Pankaj Udhas ghazal Ghungroo toot gaye, became an instant hit. The song belongs to the old world and the new in the sense that it reproduces the house sound admiringly and yet the lyrics are quintessentially Indian. Shilpa Rao is a trained classical singer and yet she adapts superbly to the new-age sound. Her voice contributes vastly towards making it the party album of the year.

He won a National Award for the background score of Uri: The Surgical Strike at such a young age. Shashwat made a name for himself giving hatke tunes for the music of the supernatural comedy Phillauri. He also composed four songs for the girl power film Veere Di Wedding. All three efforts have been unique and original. This talented and offbeat musician and composer is all set to achieve numerous milestones.

Gully Boy is based on the life of real-life underground rappers dwelling in the back-alleys of Mumbai. Hence the background score had to reflect the pain, the frustration as also the triumph of the marginalised artistes. Karsh Kale and his team aced the brief and gave a score that captures the spectrum and sounds of emotions.

Article 15 shows us how casteism is so deeply entrenched in the Indian mindset. It reiterates how the police and the judiciary too isn't immune to it. The hard-hitting narrative is an eye-opener alright. It states that we may all be equal in the eyes of the Constitution but those who take an oath to preserve that ideal turn a blind eye to it. In effect, they encourage it.

Best Screenplay - Gully Boy - Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar

Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar make sure you catch the emotional drama behind the lives of underground rappers to perfection. The various strands of life led by the marginalised and alienated are woven sensitively. The film is intricately written. It isn't a mere wish-fulfilment fantasy where everything is resolved magically in the end. The film's underlying message is to rise above the damnation of destiny.

“Duniya mein sab comfortable hote toh rap kaun karta,” says one character, summing up the philosophy of Gully Boy. A young man belonging to a slum wants to reach for the stars ñ that is the film's premise. And Vijay Maurya gets the street slang just right. For instance the scene, where the protagonist's deserted mother and abusive father have an ugly showdown, has lines that tear you apart with their gut-wrenching rawness. The bleeding words leave you shaken. 

The film had to capture the underbelly of Mumbai. Also, the sets were deftly designed to resemble slums. A grey tone was maintained throughout to give the film a singularity of vision and also to underline the metaphor of squalor and strife. All that combined to give us the feel of the grim side of the maximum city.

The recreation of the slums is so authentic that you can feel the tears, the turmoil and the triumphs of its inhabitants. Such a work of art were the sets, that it's believed industry colleagues dropped in just to admire the masterwork. Suzanne Caplan Merwanji did a fine job indeed by making the audience experience the air and atmosphere of Dharavi.

The rustic film follows the exploits of a gang of dacoits in Chambal in the '70s. The cast largely wears the same worn out costumes throughout the length of the film. It must have been daunting to ensure the period feel of the outfits and achieve the required authenticity. The clothes, largely in earthy brown and khakhi, had to have a soiled look and the Gambhir sisters made sure of that.

The sound of battle going on in full fury with various guns blasting away, bombs and grenades being thrown and the cries of the wounded - everything appears eerily tangible in Uri. The sound design makes us experience the soundscape of an elite fighting unit.

The film showcases the valour of our commandos. There were lots of action sequences and training routines that had to be incorporated in the narrative seamlessly. It all had to flow smoothly and at an even pace for the drama to come through. Shivkumar's confident editing made it all possible.

Remo D'Souza has been known for his unique take on Western dance forms. So, it must have been a challenge for him to choreograph a kathak-based song expressing emotions of intense love and longing. Remo proves his versatility with this period dance number.

The action scenes of War, be it the introduction scene of Tiger Shroff, Hrithik Roshan's fight scene in the aircraft or the climax fight between the two ñ look extraordinary indeed. The action team may have come from different corners of the earth but they shared a common vision. That's to give us some spectacular and jaw-dropping visuals matching our Western counterparts.

War has immersive CGI. Even the aeroplane scene, which had Hrithik Roshan fighting soldiers felt live and consuming. The VFX was on par with the best in Hollywood. It shows that Hindi cinema has come leaps and bounds ahead and that we no longer need foreign assistance for VFX in our movies. In fact, the world should reach for us now.