Filmfare Awards goes East; first award ceremony on 29 March

Exactly 60 years after the Filmfare Awards were first introduced in 1954, the iconic Black Lady will make its presence felt in East India when the first Vivel Filmfare Awards would take place on 29 March where besides Bengali films, those of Assam and Orissa would also be honoured. "I am happy that such a national honour is coming to East India. Films from the region will be in the spotlight," said Bengal superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee while unveiling the trophy in Kolkata recently. "There has been a resurgence in Bengali cinema in the last seven to eight years and the time is right for the initiative," Tarun Rai, CEO, Worldwide Media, publishers of Filmfare Magazine averred. The Black Lady will be given to winners in as many as 21 categories in Bengali films and four each for the Oriya and Assamese film industries. "We didn't have such platforms in the region when we started. I am glad that now the emerging artistes from these states will get national exposure through this," Chatterjee added. The award ceremony will held at the Science City Auditorium, Kolkata.