The Apsara Awards nomination party

By IndiaFM News Bureau -

May 7, 2004 - 12:00 AM IST

The nomination party of the first Film Producers Guild of India's Apsara Awards was a happening event at the Grand Inter Continental, Andheri, Mumbai. Almost the entire film fraternity was present on the occasion and it indeed felt as if they all were part of a big family. The family being - FPGI! Opening with an AV clip showcasing the history of the guild and its senior members from the very start, the event started on an interesting note. Mohnish Behl and Udita Goswami (of Paap fame) played the humble hosts to a 300 plus audience. Nominations in various categories for film and television excellence were announced by the guild members. Of the performances, Silk Route band (of the Boondein album fame) put in a rocking performance of their superhit track Dooba Dooba Rehta Hoon with brilliant orchestration. They even rendered Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's classic Tere Bina Nahi Jeena (also used in Kachche Dhaage) to exhilarating effect. But the real scene-stealer of the night was none other than the inimitable Usha Uttup. She elated the mood of the entire night with her power-filled rendering of classic tracks in her own unique way. And the real fun began when she invited the Mogambo of Bollywood - Amrish Puri on stage to give her company in her performance. And Puri very sportingly went all the way up to stage and crooned 'Yeh Dosti Hum Nahi Chodenge' with Uttup in his heavyweight voice. Prominent personalities present on the event included Yash Chopra, Ramesh Sippy, Govind Nihalani, Yash Johar, Subhash Ghai, Rakesh Roshan, Bobby Bedi, Vashu Bhagnani, Nikhil Advani, Satish Kaushik, Ronnie Screwvala, Ramesh Taurani, Kumar Taurani, Kunal Dasgupta, Kiran Shantaram, Jeetendra, Amit Khanna, Raj Tilak, Dhiraj Kumar, Sonu Nigam, Anand Raj Anand, Aadesh Srivastava, Ehsaan-Loy, Vidya Mallavde and many more.