'Dabangg' wins five awards at 'Bollywood Oscars'

TORONTO — Screen tough guy Salman Khan's corrupt cop romp "Dabangg" (Fearless) won a clutch of awards including best picture at the "Bollywood Oscars," held for the first time in North America.

The film directed by Abhinav Kashyap won in the hugely important music categories for best female playback singer, best male playback singer and best music direction, as well as best screenplay.

Actor Sonu Sood also picked up the award for best performance in a negative role as the evil head of a regional political party in the film. He thanked his mother when accepting the award.

"My Name is Khan" followed with four nods for best story, best lyrics, best director for Karan Johar and best actor for Shah Rukh Khan's portrayal of a Muslim suffering from Asperger's syndrome who is detained at a US airport after his disability is mistaken for suspicious behaviour.

The making of the film was "emotional and therapeutic," Johar said after the win, adding it taught him "restraint and love."

Tens of thousands of fans swarmed Toronto's Rogers' Centre stadium for the 12th annual Indian International Film Academy awards, and another 700 million were expected to have watched it on television.

Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor ("Slumdog Millionaire") and the Deol family were among the dozens of Bollywood superstars in attendance, along with Oscar-winners Hilary Swank and Cuba Gooding Jr.

Salman Khan, however, could not make it to Toronto as he was reportedly shooting his next film "Bodyguard," a romantic action movie with Kareena Kapoor.

"I love you so much," screamed Mamta Sharma over and over, after winning the award for best female playback singer for the song "Munni Badnam."

A tense moment followed when a fan grabbed Shah Rukh Khan onstage, leading the "King of Bollywood" to complain that the man was hurting his leg.

"This is the problem, only men grab my thighs," Khan joked as his assailant was escorted off stage.

Khan's return to the awards show after a six-year absence had earlier been put in doubt by a knee injury that had required being taped up at a hospital and "a couple of injections."

He said he had fractured a part of the bone and the ligament was "swollen to three times the size it should be."

He had vowed to perform at the IIFA show but in the end his dance steps were tremendously scaled back, and he urged the audience to fill in the rest by dancing in the aisles.

Creative Wedding Ideas To Highlight Your Unique Personalities ...

Most couples light a Unity Candle during their wedding vows, but here’s an additional idea to implement into your own ceremony. On a table near the entrance set up a memory candle to honor those that could not be with you on this joyous occasion. Print up a card that contains the names of family members and close friends that you wish to remember in your hearts. As an extra special touch, print out a second card with a meaningful poem, verse or lyrics to a song. Frame both cards and place them next to the lit candle. Paste some of your favorite photos onto the pages of a typical guestbook or scrapbook. Leave space on each page so that guests can sign their names and invite them to leave some advice or comments as well. Everyone will enjoy looking at the pictures you’ve included and you’ll have a lovely keepsake filled with fond memories to take home. I recently watched a video clip online where the bridal party started off the reception, not with the traditional “bride and groom” dance, but with a choreographed dance to the soundtrack of Michael Jackson’s song Thriller. It was quite creative and the guests loved it. Why not do something similar? Pick a favorite song and get your attendants together to practice some choreographed moves to entertain your own guests. It can be as simple as learning to do the tango or a line dance together up to something more complicated like copying the moves in a video music clip. However, stick with whatever you and your attendant’s feel most comfortable with.

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