66th Vimal Elaichi Filmfare Awards 2021

Bengaluru: It was an evening to remember for the Indian film industry as Filmfare hosted the 66th Vimal Elaichi Filmfare Awards 2021 powered by Cadbury Dairy Milk in association with Migsun Group and cooling partner Symphony Air Coolers on Saturday.

Making a much-awaited return, because 'the show must go on', the awards ceremony, this year, was held as a closed-door event where the coveted Black Lady was awarded to deserving winners from across a host of categories.

The biggest winner of the night was the movie "Thappad", which bagged the Best Film award and saw director-producer Anubhav Sushila Sinha and T-Series' Bhushan Kumar collecting the award not before calling the entire team with key crew members of the film on stage to accept the iconic Black Lady.

It was an emotional moment for Babil Khan as he accepted the Best Actor in a lead role (male) on behalf of his father Irrfan Khan for his memorable performance in Angrezi Medium.

Add to that, the awards further honoured and celebrated his legacy and contribution as the versatile actor was awarded posthumously the Lifetime Achievement Award.

On the other hand, the terrific Taapsee Pannu took home the Best Actor in a lead role (female) award for her performance in Thappad. Amongst the many heartfelt moments seen during the evening, was when 88-year-old wheelchair-bound Farrokh Jaffar received the award for Best Actor in supporting role (female) from Mithila Palkar, Amruta Subhash and Maniesh Paul, who came down the stage to present her the iconic Black Lady. Having been a veteran in the industry for decades, the actress, in her acceptance speech, went back memory lane as she recollected her time acting with Rekha in her debut film Umrao Jaan back in 1981.

The show was anchored by the dynamic duo of Rajkummar Rao and Riteish Deshmukh, along with Maniesh Paul, who held the evening together with their never-ending banter and tongue-in-cheek humour, while effortlessly navigating through all the categories one after another.

Having ensured that viewers will be served a heavy dose of laughter, the hosts also brought everyone's attention to the importance of vaccination and the pressing need to stay safe.

Another highlight was Rajkummar Rao paying a fitting tribute to the irreplaceable losses to the Indian Film Industry last year, namely Sushant Singh Rajput, Rishi Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Wajid Khan, Basu Chatterjee, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Pandit Jasraj, Saroj Khan, Yogesh, Rajat Mukherjee, Kumkum, Rahat Indori, Jagdeep, Nimmi, Nishikant Kamat, Rajiv Kapoor and Nishant Kamal with a heartfelt poem followed by a moment of silence.

Audiences worldwide will soon get to witness not only this award ceremony but also some mind-blowing performances by Hrithik Roshan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Nora Fatehi, Sara Ali Khan and Sunny Leone, which were all shot behind closed doors in a studio to complete the evergreen essence of entertainment and excellence coming together on screen.

This includes Hrithik Roshan being at his electrifying best as the evening also celebrated the actor completing 20 years in the industry.

Catch the extravaganza of the 66th Vimal Elaichi Filmfare Awards 2021 on 11th April 2021 at 12 pm only on Colors and simulcast on Filmfare's Facebook Page.

Title Partner Vimal Elaichi, Powered by Cadbury Dairy Milk, Associate Partner - Migsun Group, Cooling Partner – Symphony Air Coolers, Exclusive Telecast Partners - Colors & Colors Cineplex, Global Digital Partners - Facebook & Instagram, Music Partner - T-Series, Radio Partner - 98.3 Mirchi, Outdoor Partner - Bright Outdoor, Trophy Partner - The Award Gallery, Ambient Media Partner - Khushi Advertising.

The Technical Direction & Stage Management was done by On Cue Productions, while the Acts were Remixed, Choreographed & Designed by Shiamak Davar. The dance troupe was from the Shiamak Davar Institute Of Performing Arts.

The event was Designed, Scripted, Directed & Managed by Hyperlink with the Show Director being Margaret Alexander.