Daily Times

DUBAI: Wednesday night was huge in terms of star power, glamour quotient and neighbourly exchange of friendly hugs and appreciation. Lollywood met Bollywood with love at the Masala! Awards 2017, where all the leading ladies of the Pakistani film industry rubbed shoulders with Bollywood bigwigs from their film and fashion industry.

Bollywood veterans Govinda and Sridevi won big at the Masala! Awards 2017, which took place in Dubai, where Mahira Khan and Saba Qamar too were present. Govinda was given the Dancing Legend of Bollywood honour, and he justified the title with a lively performance at the event.

Actor Arjun Rampal bagged an award for Contribution to Cinema at the extravaganza, held at the Bollywood Parks, Dubai Parks & Resort. Lollywood legend Meera Ji presented the award to him, wearing a big warm smile. She wore an exquisite red dress with bold makeup and minimal accessories. Meera Ji was flanked by her alleged beau Naveed.

Mahira Khan made a style statement in a wine coloured strapless gown with a diamond necklace and had her hair pulled back with minimal make-up. She walked away with the Asian Woman of Substance Award. At the red carpet, Mahira spoke about being a fan of Sridevi, and said that just a few days ago, she was with her friends and they were dancing to the Indian actress’ hit song “Hawaa Hawaii”.

‘Hindi Medium’ actress Saba Qamar walked away with the Best Breakthrough Performance award for the movie, which also starred Irrfan Khan in the lead role. Sharing a photo of herself with the award, Qamar wrote, “Thank you Masala for honouring me with this award. You made my day. I would like to thank all my fans from around the globe for all the love and appreciation they have given me. Thank you! Thank you @shehlachatoorprivate for the lovely outfit.”

There were also celebrities like Manish Malhotra, Celina Jaitley and Ankita Lokhande, according to the official website of the Masala! Awards. Sridevi donned an exquisite sequinned creation by Manish Malhotra, and she looked evergreen as she picked up the Best Actress Award.

Mawra Hocane, known for her flawless performance in ‘Sanam Teri Kasam’, also wore a red Michael Cinco gown, which seemed to be a popular choice of colour for the night. She won the Masala! Award for Social Media Sensation.

Pakistani singer-songwriter Bilal Saeed was presented with the Asian Music Sensation award.

Govinda and Ankita Lokhande’s energetic dance performances was one of the highlights of the awards show.

Later, all the celebrities from both the countries posed for photographs together and interacted with each other.

The awards show was hosted by Boman Irani.

NOTABLE WINNERS

Dancing Legend Of Bollywood — Govinda

Asian Woman Of Substance — Mahira Khan

Contribution To Cinema — Arjun Rampal

Dynamic Producer Of The Year — Prerna Arora

Breakthrough Performance Of The Year — Saba Qamar

Asian Music Sensation — Bilal Saeed

Social Media Sensation — Mawra Hocane

Best Actress — Sridevi

Published in Daily Times, December 15^th 2017.