Second Apsara awards announced

At an august assembly of film and television producers, the second Apsara awards were formally announced in Mumbai last week. Hosted by Shweta Salve, the proceedings of the event began with a glossy and crisp audio visual on the Guild. The opening address was delivered by Film & Television Producers Guild of India Guild President Amit Khanna who dwelt on the intense competitiveness for the awards due to an unprecedented increase in the number of entries for film and television. The awards have been broken down into categories that include best editing, best special effects and best sound recording in the films section, while in the television section, categories include best animated series, best title song and best acting by an ensemble in a TV series. The event was well attended by the cr?me de la cr?me of the entertainment industry with luminaries like Guild Vice President Dr Yash Chopra , Guild members Shakti Samanta, Ravi Chopra, Boney Kapoor, Vashu Bhagnani, Farhan Akhtar, Anupam Kher, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Dr. Akash Khurana and Prem Kishen gracing their occasion. The nominations for the awards will be announced on 3 January and the grand finale on the event will be held on 21 January, 2006. The awards will be telecast live on NDTV and later on Sony TV.