Mumbai, Jan 27: The alluring 'Lady in Black', who has been envied and pined for by thousands of cine artistes down the years, will turn golden on February 26 as the most prestigious award of the Indian silver screen, the Filmfare Awards, completes its 50th year.
To commemorate the golden jubilee of the prestigious honour, stalwarts of the industry, Dilip Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Yash Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan and Javed Akhtar, today unveiled the popular black figurine in its new transformed form -- a glittering gold statue.
Speaking on the occasion, Dilip Kumar recounted how the award has been considered one of the most prestigious ones among cine artistes.
Speaking in a lighter vein, he said that the `Golden Lady' was now out of his reach since he was no longer in the race, but he was ready to come and cheer at the function if Amitabh Bachchan was given an award.
The award's first recipient Lata Mangeshkar recalled how in its initial years the award did not include a category for music. The nightingale narrated how she took up the issue and demanded a special category to recognise the performance of artistes connected with the music aspect of films.
Paying glowing tributes, Bachchan said that despite the awards having their share of controversies, it was still considered to the most prestigious one and coveted by artists.
Despite the plethora of awards that have sprung up, Filmfare continued to hold its credibility value and one that was perceived to be a true representative of the industry, he said.
Bureau Report
