Mumbai: The nominations for the V Shantaram Awards have been announced. These awards have been instituted by the V Shantaram Foundation in honor of the legendary Dr. V. Shantaram to award cinematic excellence. V Shantaram awards provide a national platform for films to compete on excellence transcending language barriers. They are judged by RACE – Rajkamal Academy of Cinematic Excellence, India’s film academy endorsed with over 100 members from film fraternity.
Films that have been released between 5 October, 2007 and 26 September, 2008 will be considered for nominations. The winners will be declared next month at the awards night.
Competitors in some popular categories at the V Shantaram Awards 2008 are as follows:
1) Aamir Khan – Actor, Producer & Director for Taare Zameen Par
2) Ashutosh Gowarikar – Director & Producer for Jodhaa Akbar
3) Ronnie Screwvala – Producer A Wednesday, Mumbai Meri Jaan, Jodha Akbar
4) A.R. Rahman – Music Director for Jodhaa Akbar
5) Adoor Gopalkrishnan – Producer & Director for Naalu Pennungal (Malayalam)
6) Kamal Hasan – Actor, Writer for Dashavataram (Tamil)
7) Mohanlal – Actor for Paradesi & Aakashgopuram (Malayalam)
8) Meera Jasmine – Actress for Calcutta News (Malayalam)
9) Hrithik Roshan – Best Actor for Jodhaa Akbar
10) Aishwarya Rai Bachchan – Best Actress for Jodhaa Akbar
11) Rahul Bose – Best Actor for Shaurya
12) Kay Kay Menon – Best Supporting Actor for Shaurya
13) Anil Kapoor – Best Supporting Actor for Black & White
14) Shefali Shah – Best Supporting Actress for Black & White
15) Ila Arun – Best Supporting Actress for Jodhaa Akbar
16) Darsheel Safary – Best Debut Actor for Taare Zameen Par
17) Shankar Ehsaan Loy – Best Music Taare Zameen Par & Rock On!!
18) Farhan Akhtar – Best Debut Actor for Rock On!!
19) Prachi Desai – Best Debut Actress for Rock On!!
20) Arjun Rampal – Best Supporting Actor for Rock On!!
21) Soha Ali Khan – Best Actress for Mumbai Meri Jaan
22) Shreyas Talpade – Best Actor for Welcome to Sajjanpur
23) Naseeruddin Shah – Best Actor for A Wednesday
24) Anupan Kher – Best Actor for A Wednesday
25) Jayaram – Best Actor for Novel (Malayalam)
26) Nithya – Best Debut Actress for Akashagopuram (Malayalam)
Past winners include Lt. Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal, Kamal Hasan, K. Balachander, Mani Ratnam, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan. The year 2007 saw film Chak De! India from the Yashraj camp ruling the roost with five awards, followed by Lage Raho Munna Bhai (Hindi), Guru (Hindi), Nayi Neralu (Kannada) and Ore Kadal (Malayalam).
