AWARDS

» Roshan Lal Nauhria, an Indian from a small village in Punjab was awarded one of the highest civil honors-member of the New Zealand Order of Merit ( NZOM) in the Queen's birthday Honours. The award, created in 1996, recognizes distinguished service in various fields and comprises of five levels. After graduating in Electrical Engineering from BITS Pilani in 1970, Roshan Lal Nauhria migrated to New Zealand in 1972 and started his own construction and property business in 1976.

» Canadian short story writer Alice Munro won the £60000 Man Booker International Prize 2009 on May 27,2009. She beat Mahasweta Devi and a host of other literary heavyweights, including Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul and Mario Vargas Llosa. She won recognition with her very first collection of stories, ‘Dance of the Happy Shades,’ published in 1968. Her other successful works include ‘Lives of Girls’ and ‘Women’ (1971) and ‘The Beggar Maid,’ which was shortlisted for the annual Booker Prize in 1980. The prize, different from the annual Booker Prize for Fiction, is awarded once every two years to a living author for his or her lifetime achievement in English, or whose work is widely translated into English. Ismail Kadaré and Chinua Achebe had won for the year 2005 and 2007 respectively.
» The three-day International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) award ceremony kicked off in Macau on June 11,2009. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan inaugurated the 10th edition of the prestigious event by planting a lotus flower, the official flower of both India and Macau. Amitabh Bachchan is the brand ambassador of IIFA. The award ceremony has travelled across continents from London, Yorkshire and Amsterdam in Europe, Johannesburg and Sun City in South Africa and Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai and Bangkok in Asia The IIFA awards 2009 were given on June 13.

International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) award

› Best Film - Jodhaa Akbar
› Best Actor in a Leading Role – Male - Hrithik Roshan – Jodhaa Akbar
› Best Actor in a Leading Role – Female - Priyanka Chopra – Fashion
› Best Director - Ashutosh Gowariker – Jodhaa Akbar
› Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Male - Arjun Rampal – Rock On!!
› Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female - Kangna Ranaut – Fashion
› Best Actor in a Negative Role - Akshaye Khanna – Race
› Best Story - Neeraj Pandey – A Wednesday!
› Outstanding Achievement by an Indian in International Cinema - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
› Lifetime Achievement Award - Rajesh Khanna
› Best Music - A R Rahman – Jodhaa Akbar
› Best Lyrics - Javed Akhtar – Jashn-E-Bahara (Jodhaa Akbar)
› Best Playback Singer – Male - Javed Ali – Jashn-e-Baharaa (Jodhaa Akbar)
› Best Playback Singer – Female - Shreya Ghoshal – Teri Ore (Singh is Kinng)
› Best Dialogue - Manu Rishi – Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

Decade’s Award

To commemorate the last decade in Indian Cinema, the Videocon IIFA Golden Decade Honors were instituted and presented at the Idea IIFA Awards.

› Star of the Decade – Male : Shah Rukh Khan
› Star of the Decade – Female : Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
› Music Director of the Decade : A R Rahman
› Movie of the Decade: Lagaan
› Director of the Decade : Rakesh Roshan
 

Ashutosh Gowariker's historical romance ‘Jodhaa Akbar ‘ swept the International Indian Film Acadmey (IIFA) awards 2009 with a perfect 10 bag of trophies, being named the best film and fetching its male lead Hrithik Roshan the best actor award and Ashutosh Gowariker the best director award. The IIFA and Green globe Foundation presented an Award to Rahul Bose for his contribution to creating awareness on global warming. Bollywood's veteran actor Rajesh Khanna, fondly called Kaka by his fans was awarded the lifetime achievement award. The 66-year-old thespian attained the heights of superstardom in the 70's with his remarkable performances in films like Amar Prem, Aradhana, Kati Patang and others.

» Presented an Award to Rahul Bose for his contribution to creating awareness on global warming. Bollywood's veteran actor Rajesh Khanna, fondly called Kaka by his fans was awarded the lifetime achievement award. The 66-year-old thespian attained the heights of superstardom in the 70's with his remarkable performances in films like Amar Prem, Aradhana, Kati Patang and others.

» Noted Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi was conferred with the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA)
Global Leadership Award at Macau on June 12,2009. IIFA brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan presented the award to Shabana Azmi.

Vice-President M Hamid Ansari gave away Lakshmipat Singhania-IIM Lucknow National Leadership Award for 2008 to following personalities:

» Noted space scientist G Madhavan Nair was conferred in the category of Science and Technology for his contributions to space science.
Businessman Anand Mahindra got the recognition for his leadership in business.

» Eminent social activist Tulasi Munda awarded for her exemplary work for development of tribals.

» Scientist B K Das, businessman Gautam Thapar and social activist Ravi Rebbapragada were also awarded as young leaders in the categories of science and technology, business and community service.

» The award is being given since 2004 to eminent personalities for their contributions to society.

» Wipro chairman and founder of ‘Azim Premji Foundation’, Azim Premji was conferred Doctor of Humane Letters by Wesleyan University, Connecticut, United States. The honorary degree was conferred on Premji in recognition of his achievements as a “renowned entrepreneur, global business leader and extraordinary humanitarian who demonstrated a commitment to education and the well being of fellow citizens,”. Premji became the second Indian recipient of this award. Nobel Prize winner Amartya Kumar Sen was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1995.