‘My Name Is Khan’ leads Apsara Award nomination list

NEW DELHI - Shah Rukh Khan’s “My Name Is Khan” leads the 6th Chevrolet Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards nomination list with 13 nominations followed by Salaman Khan-starrer blockbuster “Dabangg”, which is named in 10 categories.

Shah Rukh and Salman are competing with each other for the best actor trophy and both the movies will also vie for best film honour.

Other actors competing for the best actor gong are Ajay Devgn (”Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai”), Hrithik Roshan (”Guzaarish”), and Ranbir Kapoor (”Raajneeti”).

In the best film category other nominations are “Raajneeti”, “Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai”, “Band Baaja Baaraat” and “Ishqiya”.

“Dabangg” is also nominated for best dialogue for Abhinav Singh Kashyap and Dilip Shukla; best choreography for Farah Khan for “Munni Badnam” and Mamta Shrama has got the best female singer nomination for the same song; best music for Sajid-Wajid; best lyrics for Faiz Anwar for the song “Tere mast mast do nain” and for the same Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has got best male singer nomination; best performance in a negative role for Sonu Sood.

The action filled funny cop drama is also nominated for the best special effects for Alagar Swamy.

“My Name Is Khan”, set in a tumultuous post 9/11 America and which sees Shah Rukh’s character suffering from Aspergers syndrome, has been nominated in the best story category for Shibani Bathija; best lyrics for Niranjan Iyengar for ‘Tere naina” and Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan has got the best male singer for the same Sufi number; best music for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy; best female singer for Richa Sharam for “Sajda”; best director for Karan Johar as well as the best film; best female actress for Kajol; best editing for Deepa Bhatia; best cinematography Ravi K. Chandran; best sound recording Dileep Subramaniam; and best special effects for Red Chilles VFX.

In the best female singer category Sunidhi Chauhan has got two nominations for the hit song “Sheila Ki Jawaani” (”Tees Maar Khan”) and “Ainvayi Ainvayi” (”Band Baaja Baaraat”). Others vying for best singer trophy are Tulsi Kumar for “Tum jo aaye” (”Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai”) and Sona Mahapatra and Shreya Ghoshal for “Bahara (”I Hate Luv Storys”).

Newcomer Anushka Sharma is competing with Kajol in best actress category for her role in “Band Baaja Baaraat”, Kareena Kapoor for “Golmaal 3″, Vidya Balan for “Ishqiya” and Aishwarya Rai for “Guzaarish”.

The nominations for best director include Prakash Jha for “Raajneeti”, Milan Luthria “Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai”, Dibakar Banerjee for “Love Sex Aur Dhoka” and Sanjay Leela Bhansali for “Guzaarish”.

Small-budget movies like “Peepli Live”, “Well Done Abba” and “Love Sex Aur Dhoka” have also won nominations in various categories.

“The Indian Film industry has had a thrilling past year with the likes of both small and big budget films reigning equally at the box office. It is very thrilling to watch varied movies like ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai’, ‘Dabaang’, ‘Peepli Live’, ‘My Name is Khan’, ‘Love Sex Aur Dhoka’, ‘Golmaal 3′, ‘Ishqiya’, ‘Guzaarish’ and ‘Tere Bin Laden’,” Ramesh Sippy, president of Film & Television Producers Guild of India said in a statement.

“All these films have done very well and I anticipate that the producers would have a tough time deciding a winner. Bollywood’s golden era has arrived,” he added.