At an Awards Night

It was my ambition to go to an award night. I got a pass to go for a Filmfare Award night, but I, fool that I am, let it go, saying many such events will come. But turned out the organisers took the event private and not even the son-in-law of the minister’s co-brother-in-law (what’s that? Good question. Co-brothers-in-law are guys who are married to blood sisters. Both are brothers-in-law with equal responsibility of protecting, etc., so the “co” factor.) can get in these days. However, a few night ago, I got a sneak peek at an award nights. God, are they jazzy? I wonder where product marketing and product launches are going by the bottomless budgets they have, or, as I suspect, are they all sponsored? I don’t know. Is the food paid for by the sponsors, dear pony-tailed professor?

Yes, it was the pony-tailed professor’s launch of an award that I attended and there were Russian dancers performing a weird dance along with laser show and something they call a boom camera operator panning the audience including a few friends and me. It something to behold and the usual hep individuals among the glitterati were there including a starlet in a shiny golden dress who kept giving sound bites for the television cameras.

As for the awards, nothing needs to be said. The awardees themselves were derogatory about the great honour conferred on them. Hold your breath, “I don’t deserve this, but I will, however, accept.” Release breathe with a loud hiss; adjust breathing; control the heart that almost skipped a beat.

That done!

Then it got so boring that the crowd gravitated to the bar, which made the organisers close the bar. So the crowd did what they do best, i.e., stand in the foyer and gossip. The awards function pulled along with most of the chairs empty and the boom camera panning empty chairs.

Then the bar and the buffet finally opened and there was a mad rush and much cursing and “abbey, yeah, dikhta nahi hai kya” and the starlet was seen grinning and making the most of the attention and ogling. Couple of high-heeled stilettos were seen criss crossing the foyer and making pitches.

As for the pony-tailed professor, he gave a very stirring speech and then stuck to dark corners of the hall. Shy, or what?