"V Shantaram Awards 2008"

The V Shantaram Awards are instituted in honor of the legendary “Dr. V. Shantaram” to award cinematic excellence by V Shantaram Foundation. The awards have garnered wholehearted support and faith of Indian film Industry ever since. The V Shantaram awards provide a national platform for films to compete on pure excellence transcending the language barriers. The awards are judged by RACE – Rajkamal Academy of Cinematic Excellence, India’s premier film academy endorsed with over 100 members from film fraternity; thereby making them one of the most coveted awards

Most of V Shantaramji’s films for eg. “Padosi”, “Dahej” “Do Aankhen Barah Haath”, “Dr. Kotnis Ki Aamar Kahani have proved to the world that socially relevant cinema does not only mean art cinema and they went world wide mesmerizing the audience along with film makers. Based on his principle; films that handle social themes, provide wholesome entertainment and but obviously display novelty or exceptional talent in the film are given preference. From approximately 1000 films only 25-30 films that meet overall academy standards manage to make it to the Top. The V Shantaram awards recognizes the pivotal role of the director in film making and hence are the arguably the only private awards to confer Gold, Silver & Bronze Awards in Best Film & Best Director categories.

The past winners list includes names of likes of Lt. Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal, Kamal Hasan, K. Balachander, Mani Ratnam, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and many more deserving names. The year 2007 saw film “Chak De! India from Yashraj camp ruling the roost with 5 Awards followed by Lage Raho Munna Bhai (Hindi), Guru (Hindi), Nayi Neralu (Kannada), Ore Kadal (Malayalam) and others.

2008 RACE for India’s Best has already begun… It is that time of the year where the academy is busy with mammoth task of identifying the worthy winner for national honors from films released between 5th October 2007 and 26th September 2008. The winners will be declared next month at the awards nite amidst Indian film luminaries.

Competitors in some popular categories at the "V Shantaram Awards 2008"

1) Aamir Khan - Actor, Producer & Director for "Taare Zameen Par"
2) Ashutosh Gowarikar - Director & Producer for "Jodha Akbar"
3) Ronnie Screwvala - Producer "A Wednesday" "Mumbai Meri Jaan" “Jodha Akbar”
4) A.R. Rahman - Music Director for Jodha Akbar
5) Adoor Gopalkrishnan - Producer & Director for "Naalu Pennungal" (Malayalam)
6) Kamal Hasan - Actor, Writer for "Dashavataram" (Tamil)
7) Mohanlal - Actor for "Paradesi" & "Aakashgopuram" (Malayalam)
8) Meera Jasmine - Actress for "Calcutta News" (Malayalam)
9) Hrithik Roshan - Best Actor for "Jodha Akbar"
10) Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - Best Actress for "Jodha Akbar"
11) Rahul Bose - Best Actor for "Shaurya"
12) Kay Kay Menon - Best Supporting Actor for "Shaurya"
13) Anil Kapoor - Best Supporting Actor for "Black & White"
14) Shefali Shah - Best Supporting Actress for "Black & White"
15) Ila Arun - Best Supporting Actress for "Jodha Akbar"
16) Darsheel Safary - Best Debut Actor for "Taare Zameen Par"
17) Shankar Ehsaan Loy - Best Music "Taare Zameen Par" & “Rock On!!”
18) Farhan Akhtar - Best Debut Actor for "Rock On"
19) Prachi Desai - Best Debut Actress for "Rock On"
20) Arjun Rampal - Best Supporting Actor for "Rock On"
21) Soha Ali Khan - Best Actress for "Mumbai Meri Jaan"
22) Shreyas Talpade - Best Actor for "Welcome to Sajjanpur"
23) Naseeruddin Shah - Best Actor for "A Wednesday"
24) Anupan Kher - Best Actor for "A Wednesday"
25) Jayaram - Best Actor for "Novel" (Malayalam)
26) Nithya - Best Debut Actress for "Akashagopuram" (Malayalam)



Kiran V. Shantaram
Chairman
V Shantaram Foundation & Rajkamal Academy of Cinematic Excellence