FilmFare astounds me by just how big a piece of shit it is. It's not an "award show" for "achievement in cinema"; it's a mother-fucking
joke that celebrates "who made the most money," "who's the most popular," and "which film was in the headlines most frequently." I respect differences in taste and opinion, and all that: It's perfectly fine for someone to love 2006's
Don, and even to consider it his or her favorite film of the year. Said picture probably
can't, however, really be considered the "best film of 2006" in any regard but "financial success" (or, maybe, "good entertainer"). "Best Picture" generally (read,
generally) alludes to a movie somehow socially salient, somehow meaningful, and not to a successful "out-and-out" comedy or action film. Such efforts are generally thought of as more "specialized," more "niched."
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was one of my favorite comedies at the time it came out, and I just loved
Spider-Man 2, but neither's really the "type" of movie I'd nominate for a general "Best Picture" award. It's not that I feel a movie has to be totally devoid of humor or entertainment to qualify for this type of "honor"; I just don't think that a genre so dedicated to sheer entertainment quite qualifies for what I, personally, associate with such an award. How, then, is FilmFare — arguably India's most "meaningful" film award — able to see it fit to nominate
Dhoom 2 — a fun but "mindless" action movie —
Don — a decent
re-make of a very good 1970s "masala film" — and
Krrish — a fucking
super-hero movie intended largely for a "younger" audience — for the "Best Picture of the Year" award? Yes,
Rang De Basanti and
Lage Raho Munnabhai are (rightly) there, as well, but that doesn't really excuse the inclusion of the aforementioned three ventures.
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna can be
argued to be "socially-relevant" (I wouldn't make the argument, but I believe it can be made), so perhaps it, too, can be considered an "appropriate" choice.
One other thing I find a bit odd is the splitting up of "best performer" awards into such distinct categories. It just strikes me as peculiar that Saif Ali Khan might get a "Best Actor In A Negative Role" award (for his work in
Omkara), but is ineligible for a simple (and, perhaps, more coveted) "Best Actor" award for the same performance. Perhaps this does make some degree of sense — I'm not steadfast on being against it — and I feel I'd like to hear what others think of it.
So... there's my rant.
