Colors snaps up rights to Screen Awards

Hindi entertainment channel Colors has bagged the rights to telecast the 18th edition of Screen Awards, a property that has been associated with Star Plus for over a decade.

The Colors Screen Awards, as they are now called, will be held in January 2012.

Initiated in 1994, these awards are given in over 30 categories to recognise upcoming talent and professional excellence in Hindi and Marathi cinema. Officials at Colors, one of the leading Hindi general entertainment channels, are happy with the acquisition of the award ceremony.

'The Screen Awards is one of the most popular and recognised award functions in the Indian film industry's calendar and we are extremely proud to be associated with it,' Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors, said in a press statement.

'It has been our constant endeavour to make Colors the one-stop entertainment hub for our audiences by bringing to them excellence in terms of shows, events and movies and through the acquisition of this property we hope to achieve just that,' he added.

Shekhar Gupta, Editor-in-Chief of The Express Group, which organises the annual extravaganza, said: 'Cinema is bristling with talent, these awards applaud and celebrate this creative upsurge.'

The event will see the presence and performances of some big names from the industry.

The awards will be decided through a unique, two-step screening process that includes a Screen Selection Academy, which send their recommendations to a select Screen Jury.

Previous jury chairpersons included veterans like Ramesh Sippy, Amol Palekar, Jeetendra, Asha Parekh, Shatrughan Sinha and Waheeda Rehman.