QuickE: Akshay Kumar & ‘Neerja’ Win Big at National Awards & More

Sonam and Akshay celebrate wins, Irrfan Khan’s special message for Vinod Khanna, Richa Chadha to write a book & more

Neerja won the National Award for Best Film. (Photo courtesy: Twitter/MovifiedBolly)

1. Akshay Wins National Award For Rustom, But What About Airlift?

Akshay Kumar in a still from Brothers. (Photo courtesy: Dharma Productions)

Akshay Kumar, an actor the popular awards have ignored for years, is now the proud recipient of the National Award for two back-to-back performances – Airlift and Rustom. Strangely, the list of winners declares Akshay as the winner of the National Award for Best Actor for Rustom only.

This left a lot of Akshay’s friends and collaborators confused. Raja Krishna Menon, who directed Akshay in Airlift said, “I thought he won for Rustom. If he has won for Airlift as well, then I am over the moon. Akshay definitely deserves the award. He’s worked hard all these years and delivered some really great performances and I believe that in Airlift he really pushed the boundaries to reach a place that very few actors reach.”

Read more at The Quint.

2. Akshay, Sonam On What It Feels Like to Win the National Award

The 64th National Awards were announced on Friday morning. While regional cinema dominated the wins, Akshay Kumar’s big win for Rustom (and Airlift) stood out. The Sonam Kapoor starrer Neerja also won in the Best film category. Both Akshay and Sonam were over the moon about the honour and took to social media to express their gratitude.

Read more on The Quint.

3. Can Donate One of My Organs to Vinod Khanna: Irrfan Khan

Irrfan Khan, the hopeless romantic in a still from Life of Pi  (2012)

At the trailer launch of his new film Hindi Medium on Thursday, actor Irrfan Khan spoke about the photograph of veteran actor Vinod Khanna in hospital, which was going viral on social media. Speaking about the photograph, Irrfan said that he was shocked to see Vinod looking so weak.

My good wishes and prayers with him. I hope he gets well soon. If needed, I’ll donate one of my organs to him. I think he is the most beautiful person in the entire industry.

Irrfan Khan, Actor

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4. Richa Chadha to Write a Book on Overcoming Her Eating Disorder

Richa Chadha will get candid about her eating disorder in a book. (Photo: AFP)

A journey of self-discovery and overcoming an eating disorder will be what Richa Chadha is going to write about in her upcoming, untitled book. With a rise in depression rates among the youth today, the book could not have come at a better time. The Masaan actress will write about how she went through the rounds of chronic unhappiness with her appearance.

Read more on The Quint.

5. In Pics: Satya & Rangeela Stars at Ram Gopal Varma’s Big Bash

Ram Gopal Varma in conversation with Mithun Chakraborty. (Photo: Yogen Shah)

Ram Gopal Varma turns a year older on 7 April. The filmmaker had a celebration on the eve of his birthday in Mumbai and a few Bollywood stars from his big hits from the 90s dropped by to wish him. RGV was the man behind several out-of-the-box successes such as Kaun, Satya, Rangeela, Company and Sarkar.

Read more on The Quint.

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