Trophy wiles: Anupama Chopra on strange awards and why they must stop
Incredible-sounding prizes are being handed out, often on demand. I wish stars would show up for others, allow awards to have meaning, Chopra says.
Most Stylish Glam Star Award. Star in the Spotlight. Hot and Techy Performer of the Year. Sensational Superstar. Most Stylish Game Changer Award. Most Stylish Risk Taker.
All of the above are names of awards presented over the past two months to Bollywood artists. My favourite has to be Hot and Techy Performer of the Year (given to Ananya Panday). I’m assuming the “techy” is a reference to her latest film, Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, which depicts the angst and alienation of a generation living online.
I think there should be an award given to the person whose job it is to come up with these categories. They become more incredible each year.
Between February and March, so many awards are doled out for Hindi cinema, that pretty much every contemporary star has had at least one opportunity to hold up a statuette and thank their family. Artists feel validated. Sponsors are happy. Viewers are given something to watch. Social media is fed trending images and moments.
It’s a well-oiled machine that has run for years (Disclaimer: I am chairperson of the Film Critics Guild, which curates the Critics’ Choice Awards).
But each year, as the ceremonies roll past, I wonder: Can’t Hindi cinema, one of the world’s most celebrated and powerful film industries, do better? The fault, to contradict Shakespeare’s famous line from Julius Caesar, is in our stars.
Award shows, including the Oscars, are at heart TV broadcasts. A critical component is ensuring that stars show up. Last year, nominees James Cameron and Tom Cruise skipped the ceremony but the Oscars are largely so revered that even being invited to present is seen as an honour (remember Deepika Padukone, resplendent in black, introducing the Naatu Naatu performance in 2023?).
At this year’s Oscars, five previous winners of the best actor and best actress awards presented. As each one talked about the current year’s nominees, it made for beautifully orchestrated moments of artists applauding artists.
This is almost unimaginable in our industry, because stars won’t show up unless they are guaranteed a win. Getting an A-lister to present is even harder.
At the Critics’ Choice Awards, we curate the presenters as meticulously as the winners.
National Award winning-cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee presented the award for cinematography to Avinash Arun for Three of Us.
The fiercely talented and much-awarded Vidya Balan handed out the best actor and best actress awards to Vikrant Massey (12th Fail) and Shefali Shah (Three of Us).
Anil Kapoor generously showed up to present the best picture award to my husband, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, for 12th Fail. (For the record, I didn’t vote in the feature-film categories this year.) I use the word generously because that’s what it takes to come to a ceremony where you aren’t even nominated.
In the run-up to the awards, we were routinely asked by publicists if their talent “could get a prize”. They asked because that is what routinely happens, even if a category must be invented so they can win.
One leading male actor expressed disappointment at how transactional awards have become, and promised me that he would attend in support of Critics’ Choice. Eventually, he didn’t show up.
This is a struggle that organisers can’t win alone. The industry will have to raise the bar for themselves. Perhaps they can take inspiration from the Oscars, which turn 100 in 2028, and remain a platform of enduring credibility.
(To reach Anupama Chopra with feedback, email feedbackforanu@gmail.com)
