New Delhi, April 29 (IANS) Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and eminent artist Satish Gujral were Tuesday honoured with the NDTV Indian of the Year Awards for lifetime achievement in the field of entertainment and art respectively.
The veterans were present to collect the award among an august gathering of well-known names from different fields, who cheered on the winners during the seventh edition of the annual event.
The Indian of The Year award itself was given to the Election Commission, while the award for Public Service was given by Bollywood actor-filmmaker Aamir Khan to Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and PRS.
Bollywood celebrities other than Aamir added the much-needed glamour to the show with not just their presence, but spontaneity too.
If Ranbir Kapoor won the Bollywood youth icon award, his former lady love Deepika Padukone, who seemed comfortable in his presence, was named the entertainer of the year, in which she delivered a rare four back-to-back hits.
There was also “Queen” Kangana Ranaut, who was chosen as the actor of the year. Aamir handed over the trophy to the actress, and she couldn’t have been more thrilled about it.
The NDTV Indian of the Year award for technical innovation in film was bestowed on the young and raring to go Soundarya R. Ashwin, who is bringing the country’s first motion capture 3D animated film with “Kochadaiiyaan”.
A pre-recorded message from her superstar father Rajinikanth, and the support of her mother Latha Rajinikanth, left Soundarya a tad emotional.
Other awards included the business leader of the year (Rajeev Bajaj), young philanthropist of the year (Roshni Nadar), LIC Unsung Hero (acid victim) Laxmi, and sportsperson of the year (P.V. Sindhu).
The awards are held annually to recognise Indians whose contribution to the country have strengthened the foundation of our society and helped build Brand India.
The event also saw a set of interesting panel discussions over key issues: public service, election and business, while Ranbir and Deepika lit up the show with an impromptu and fun-loving jig on their hit number “Badtameez dil”.
It was, however, a celeb-studded selfie moment a la the Oscars, which turned out to be a picture-perfect moment during the show.