'3 Idiots' team in great spirits at star screen awards function

We cheer with the team of 3 Idiots as they scoop the maximum number of trophies at the Nokia 16th Annual Star Screen Awards

If you were at the Nokia 16th Annual Star Screen awards, you were at the happiest place to be. The three rows at the centre of the audience would remind you of a laughter club, with the excited cast of 3 Idiots picking up awards by the handful. Ten rows behind were 40 enthusiastic crew members of the film. “We rehearsed the cheer on the way,” says Boman Irani with a smile, “Our entire cast and crew traveled together in a huge bus. It was such a big bus that we were not allowed to enter the venue and had to walk some of the distance,” he laughs. The cast and crew, led by producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and director Rajkumar Hirani, entered the venue like baraatis, hollering “Aal izz well”.

Omi Vaidya, R Madhavan and Sharman Joshi entered in the group with their wives — all of them wearing nervous smiles. “I’m more nervous about my performance on stage than the awards,” revealed Vaidya, “The fact that I’ve been nominated is big enough for me. I just hope I don’t let people down by giving a bad performance. That’s all I’m concerned about right now.” This was Vaidya’s first awards function and he tells us that all his family and friends back in the US were waiting with a bated breath for the results.

As soon as the awards begin, the tension starts mounting. Hirani is excited. “I’m so happy to be here with my entire cast and crew. Of course we miss Aamir (Khan) and hope that we can convince him to come to award ceremonies some day,” says the soft-spoken director as he finds a seat in the first row next to his wife and Chopra.