The first edition of News18 REEL Movie Awards was unlike any other award ceremony that Bollywood has ever witnessed. To begin with, no blockbuster film was on the nomination list, neither were marquee-name movie stars. REEL Movie Awards consciously chose to take a departure from the formulaic award shows, which celebrate popular cinema with glamorous celebrities and decided to champion independent films and technical expertise instead.
The event began with a red carpet; however, the purpose of the red carpet was not only to shine the limelight on actors and actresses of independent cinema but also to bring the faces of technical excellence in front of the media. Therefore we saw sound designer Anish John, dialogue writer Amitosh Nagpal, and production designer Parul Sondh sashaying down the red carpet along with popular actors like Richa Chaddha, Dia Mirza, Ratna Pathak, and Rajkumar Rao.
Hosted by Cyrus Broacha, the REEL Movie Awards also did not go by the award ceremony playbook that every other major award show follows in India. There were no dance performances, no multiple hosts, and awards were not doled out on the basis of attendance. It was a welcome change from popular award shows which focus only on big stars sitting in the front row, with immaculate smiles plastered on their faces because they know that the camera will be on them for the entire duration of the event.
There were nine off-screen categories and seven on-screen categories at the REEL Movie Awards and the winners were decided by an audience poll as well as a four-member jury that comprised Farah Khan, Sudhir Mishra, Nikkhil Advani and Sujoy Ghosh. While the audience voted enthusiastically in several categories -- which showed that there are people in India who care about films such as these -- the jury had a hard time coming to a consensus because 'all the nominees were really good.'
The winners that were announced on the night of the ceremony were also very unconventional. The beautiful and talented Ratna Pathak Shah won the Best Actress Award for Lipstick Under My Burkha. While accepting the award the actress thanked News18, and said, "It's particularly interesting that you decided to award a 60-year-old in this category. That was quite a risk. Thanks for taking it."
The Best Supporting Actor trophy went to Pankaj Tripathi, who confessed that he was beginning to lose faith in awards. Tripathi has played several significant roles in popular Bollywood films and has never received an award before this.
The Best Actor Award went to Irrfan Khan, who was unable to attend the award ceremony as he is currently in London getting treatment for a neuroendocrine tumor. Sudhir Mishra accepted the award on his behalf.
The Best Film Award went to Subashish Bhutiani’s Mukti Bhawan, a film which also got a special mention at the National Awards and won many international accolades but did not get any acknowledgment in mainstream Bollywood award shows until now.
Meher Vij, who won the Best Supporting Actress Award for Secret Superstar, was teary-eyed while accepting the award. The actress said that REEL Movie Awards are different because both audience, as well as a jury, have voted for it and she will 'relish' this award more for this particular reason.
Rajkumar Rao received a special jury award for the Breakthrough Performance of the Year. The actor said, “It's been a great year for cinema and I hope it continues." Rao himself had a significantly good 2017, with films like Newton and Trapped carving out a niche in Bollywood.
Not just the winners, many media outlets also praised REEL Movie Awards for its initiative and authenticity. Scoopwhoop said,"... finally, it seems there is one award show that decided to actually acknowledge sensible cinema and great acting. Yes, the News18 REEL Movie Awards have reinstated our faith in Bollywood award shows - at least partially!"
The Quint said that REEL Movie Awards 'bridge the gap between 'popular' and 'critics' choice.'
REEL Movie Awards serve as an important marker in the changing landscape of the Indian film industry. The award show was conceptualiSed to champion creative storytelling and encourage new age content and 2017 provided ample opportunities and options in terms of nominees. This year, with films like Mukti Bhawan, Newton, Lipstick Under My Burkha we saw the line between mainstream films and art house cinema blur; the REEL Movie Awards not only acknowledged this change, but also saluted it.
As the night of the REEL Movie Awards ceremony proceeded, a hall full of talented actors, filmmakers, writers, and technicians cheered for their colleagues who won in different categories, celebrated creative stories that were told in 2017 and toasted to fine performances by their peers.
However, the significance of REEL Movie Awards does not end here. This award show also happened to be the first major film award show to celebrate creative web content. With web series that have the technical finesse of big-budget films and innovative storylines, Indian audiences are being introduced to a new league of video content and REEL Awards celebrated just that with its Best Web Series category. TVF Bachelors (season 2) took the trophy of Best Web Series home this year.
The first edition of REEL Movie awards set the bar high for Bollywood award shows by not only rewarding new age content but also by being authentic and choosing to reward substance and talent over glamour and mainstream films that only cater to the lowest common denominator of the audience. Here’s hoping that for years to come REEL Movie Awards will not only hold on to its integrity but also encourage more films with innovative content that’s often overlooked at popular award shows.
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