Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan declared “it is good to be again” as he gained finest actor on the Worldwide Indian Movie Academy Awards on Saturday after an extended absence from the limelight.
The 58-year-old stole the present as occasion co-host earlier than strolling off with the coveted prize for his position within the motion thriller “Jawan”, capping a five-hour present in Abu Dhabi.
“I simply need to let you know it is good to be again,” he informed a packed crowd within the capital of the oil-rich United Arab Emirates, which has a big Indian inhabitants.
“I like awards, I am grasping about awards… I feel I’ve just a little happiness from the viewers this 12 months as a result of I labored (once more) after a very long time,” he added.
Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s “Animal” gained finest image amongst six awards together with finest supporting actor for Anil Kapoor, one other stalwart of the Hindi movie trade.
Rani Mukerji was named finest actress for the child-custody drama “Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway” and Vidhu Vinod Chopra gained finest director for “twelfth Fail”.
In a rambling occasion that completed at 2:30 am, Khan’s comedy skits with fellow actor Vicky Kaushal have been interspersed with hip-thrusting dance numbers and frequent business endorsements.
Shahid Kapoor rode as much as the stage on a motorcycle and after “King Khan” appeared, to blasts of fireworks and with an enormous crown superimposed above his head, there have been fixed ad-lib tributes to the star.
Earlier than releasing “Jawan” and “Pathaan” final 12 months, Khan had not performed any starring roles for 5 years.
His return comes as Mumbai-based Bollywood, for many years India’s dominant movie enterprise and a significant cultural export, faces challenges together with competitors from elsewhere within the huge, culturally various nation.
As non-Hindi productions develop in reputation, Bollywood has additionally been outshone by impartial movies comparable to director Payal Kapadia’s “All We Think about as Mild”, which gained the coveted Grand Prix award at Cannes in Could.
Bollywood’s cinema-based enterprise mannequin can also be grappling with the rise in streaming companies comparable to Netflix, whose Indian content material consists of eight movies and 14 collection.
Elara Capital, an Indian funding and advisory agency, estimates that field workplace takings have been down as much as 35 p.c within the first half of 2024 in comparison with the identical interval final 12 months.
Nonetheless, 2023 was significantly robust as Bollywood bounced again after Covid with a robust slate of movies, in comparison with a a lot weaker content material pipeline this 12 months.
Abu Dhabi was taking part in host for the third straight version of the globe-trotting occasion, which began in 2000 and has solely taken place as soon as in India.
