Salman Khan starrer 'Dabangg' won 5 major awards at the inaugural Big Star Entertainment Awards Tuesday night, December 21. The event, held in Mumbai, was created to honor the best Hindi films and television shows of 2010 as decided by popular vote. Dabangg picked up awards in five of the seven categories in which it was nominated, taking home trophies for Most Entertaining Film, Actor (Salman Khan), Director (Abhinav Kashyap), Song (Munni Badnaam Hui) and Singer (Rahat Fateh Ali Khan for ('Mast mast do nain').
Yesteryear actor Dharmendra was presented with the Big Star Entertainer Award, which recognized his lifetime contribution to the Hindi film industry.
The event featured a who's who of Bollywood's biggest stars, as Aishwarya Rai (honored as Film Actor of the Decade), Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Akshay Kumar, and Priyanka Chopra, among others, were on hand as nominees and presenters. The popular success of Dabangg over fellow 'Most Entertaining Film' nominees Raajneeti, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, Kites, and My Name Is Khan shows a clear audience preference for classic masala filmmaking over somewhat darker and more serious films. The trend was apparent in the 'Most Entertaining Actor' category as well, with Salman Khan edging out fellow nominees Ranbir Kapoor (Raajneeti), Shah Rukh Khan (My Name Is Khan), Ajay Devgan (Once Upon a Time in Mumbai), and Hrithik Roshan (Guzaarish). Newcomer Ranveer Singh, fresh off the success of his film Band Baaja Baaraat, was nominated as well, but could not overcome the star power of Salman Khan. The Big Star Entertainment Awards will air Friday, December 31 at 10pm on STAR Plus.
