1) Film on conservation efforts by Nagaland villagers won Golden Beaver Award.
- Nagaland is changing, But..., a film on conservation efforts by villagers, won the Golden Beaver Best Film Award in the institutional category at the 6th National Science Film Festival and Competition in Mumbai.
- The film also received the technical excellence award for best sound design at the festival, organized by Vigyan Prasar of the Department of Science and Technology.
- Renowned film maker M.S. Sathyu presented the award to the director of the film, Gurmeet Sapal.
About Nagaland is changing, but...
- The film was produced by Nagaland State Forest Department in 2015.
- The film was made with the technical collaboration with TERI, New Delhi.
- The film is about community conservation areas of Nagaland at Sendenyu village in Kohima district and Sukhai village in Zunheboto district.
2) 69th British Academy Film Awards announced.
- The 69th British Academy Films Awards (BAFTAs) were announced.
- The award ceremony was held at the Royal Opera House in London.
- The awards were announced to honour the best British and international contributions to film in 2015. Presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), accolades were handed out for the best in feature-length film and documentaries of any nationality, that were screened at British cinemas during 2015.
- Wilderness drama The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, won the Best Film Award. Brooklyn was named the Outstanding British Film while Inside Out won the Best Animated Film.
- Amy won the award in Best Documentary category.
BAFTA Awards: Complete Winners List
Outstanding British film: Brooklyn
Best makeup and hair: Mad Max: Fury Road
Best cinematography: The Revenant
Best documentary: Amy
Best British short film: Operator
Best British short animation: Edmond
Best editing: Mad Max: Fury Road
Best sound: The Revenant
Best special visual effcts: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
EE Rising Star (voted for by the public): John Boyega
Best supporting actor: Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
Best animated film: Inside Out
Best supporting actress: Kate Winslet – Steve Jobs
Best costume design: Mad Max: Fury Road
Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer: Naji Abu Nowar (writer/ director, Theeb), Rupert Lloyd (producer, Theeb)
Best adapted screenplay: The Big Short
Best original screenplay: Spotlight
Best film not in the English language: Wild Tales
Best production design: Mad Max: Fury Road
Best director: Alejandro González Iñárritu – The Revenant
Best actress: Brie Larson – Room
Best actor: Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
Best film: The Revenant
3) Indo-British Asif Kapadia won 2016 Grammy Award for Best Music Film.
- Indo-British filmmaker Asif Kapadia won Grammy Award for Best Music Film for his documentary Amy.
- The award was presented at the 58th annual awards ceremony that was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the USA
- Amy is a 2015 British documentary film that depicts the life and death of British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse. It was directed by Asif Kapadia.
- Earlier, Amy won the award in Best Documentary category at the 69th British Academy Films Awards (BAFTAs) in London.
4) Bollywood Actress Vidya Balan Awarded With The Pride Of Kerala Award.
- Bollywood actress Vidya Balan has been awarded the `Pride of Kerala` award by the World Malaya lee Council and Kairali TV.
- National Award-winning actress Vidya Balan, who hails from Kerala, is 38 year old.
- National award winner had made her debut in Bollywood in 2005 in Parineeta.
- The Bollywood actress has already received many awards and honors like National Film Award for Best Actress - for The Dirty Picture (2011). Padma Shri Award in 2014. She also has won five Filmfare Awards in Best Female Debut for Parineeta (2005), Best Actress for Paa (2009), The Dirty Picture (2011) and Kahaani (2012) and Critics Award for Best Actress for Ishqiya (2010).
5) President Pranab Mukherjee conferred Infosys Prize 2015.
- President Pranab Mukherjee conferred Infosys Prize 2015 on six winners in New Delhi.
- The awards were received by Prof Umesh Waghmare, Prof. Jonardon Ganeri, Dr. Amit Sharma, Prof. Mahan Mj, Prof. G. Ravindra Kumar and Dr. Srinath Raghavan.
- The prestigious prize, established in 2009, is given in six categories. The six categories are – Engineering and Computer Science, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences.
- The Infosys Prize is awarded under the aegis of the Infosys Science Foundation, a not-for-profit trust instituted in February 2009. The prize for each category consists of a purse of 65 lakh rupees, a 22 karat gold medallion and a citation certificate.
6) Taylor Swift wins Album of The Year for 1989.
- Taylor Swift has taken home the 2016 award for Album of The Year at the 2016 Grammy Awards for her 2014 album 1989.
- Album of The Year is the most prestigious award in the music industry, and it’s Taylor’s second Album of the Year win (she first won in 2010 for Fearless.) Swift, who also opened the night’s award ceremony with a performance of the 1989 track “Out of the Woods” accepted the award.
7) Sameer Anjaan enters Guinness Book of World Records.
- Renowned Indian lyricist Sameer Anjaan has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for writing lyrics to the most number of Bollywood songs.
- The official record states that Sameer wrote 3,524 songs for 650 Bollywood movies, as verified on December 15, 2015. Sameer was included as a Guinness World Record holder under a new category titled ‘Most prolific Bollywood lyricist’.
- Son of veteran lyricist Anjaan (Lalji Pandey), Sameer started his career as a lyricist in 1983 with Bekhabar.
About Sameer Anjaan
- Sameer, officially named Shitala Pandey, but commonly known by his nickname Rajan, was born near Banaras, Uttar Pradesh.
- He won his first Filmfare Award for the song Nazar Ke Saamne.
- He earned a Master of Commerce degree at the Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, and started a new position as a bank officer at the Central Bank of India.
8) Robin Chaurasiya nominated for `Global Teacher Prize`.
- Robin Chaurasiya, an Indian teacher who runs a non-profit school in Mumbai for girls from the city’s red light areas has been named in the top 10 short-list for a global prize for teachers.
- Robin Chaurasiya, founder of Kranti, will compete with teachers from the UK, US, Nairobi, Palestine, Japan, Finland, Australia and Pakistan to win the $1 million Global Teacher Prize 2016.
- The Global Teacher Prize was set up to recognise one exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession as well as to shine a spotlight on the important role teachers play in society.
- The top ten have been narrowed down from 8,000 nominations and applications from 148 countries from around the world.
9) David Shulman won Israel Prize for Religious Studies for Research on India.
- Renowned Indologist Professor David Shulman was awarded the prestigious Israel Prize for Religious Studies for his breakthrough research into the literature and culture of southern India.
- Israel’s Education Minister Naftali Bennett approved the recommendation of the prize committee, headed by Professor Shaul Shaked.
About David Shulman
- David Dean Shulman is an Indologist and regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the languages of India.
- His research incorporates many fields, including the history of religion in South India, Indian poetics, Tamil Islam, Dravidian linguistics and Carnatic music.
- He was formerly Professor of Indian Studies and Comparative Religion at The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, and professor in the Department of Indian, Iranian and Armenian Studies.
- At present, he holds an appointment as Renee Lang Professor of Humanistic Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
10) Fallout 4 wins game of the year award.
- Bethesda’s Fallout 4 has won Game of the Year at the DICE Awards, the equivalent of the Oscars of gaming.
- The announcement was made at the Pete Holmes-hosted affair at The Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
- Although Bethesda took home the most awards, there was plenty of love for small-budget games as well.
- The Microsoft-exclusive Ori and the Blind Forest took home three awards for music, animation and art direction.
- Rocket League beat out heavy hitters like FIFA 2016 and NBA 2K16 to take home best sports game, and was also the winner of the Sprite award, which honors games with a low budget and big impact.
11) Zee Cine Awards 2016: Complete List of Winners.
- Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Bajirao Mastani, starring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone swept the Zee Cine Awards 2016, winning awards in as many as 10 categories including the Jury Award for Best Film, Best Actor and Best Director and Best Actress (Viewers’ Choice).
Complete List of Winners
Best Film (Jury): Bajirao Mastani
Best Director (Jury): Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Bajirao Mastani
Best Actor Female (Jury): Deepika Padukone for Piku
Best Actor Male (Jury): Amitabh Bachchan for Piku & Ranveer Singh for Bajirao Mastani
Song of The Year (Viewers’ Choice): Prem Ratan Dhan Payo
Best Film (Viewers’ Choice): Bajrangi Bhaijaan
Best Actress (Viewers’ Choice): Deepika Padukone for Bajirao Mastani
Best Actor (Viewers’ Choice): Salman Khan for Bajrangi Bhaijaan
Best Debutant male: Vicky Kaushal for Masaan
Best Debutant Female: Bhumi Pednekar for Dum Laga Ke Haisha & Harshali Malhotra for Bajrangi Bhaijaan
Best Debutant Director: Neeraj Ghaywan for Masaan
Best Actor in a Comic role: Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Bajrangi Bhaijaan
Best Actor in a Negative Role: Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Badlapur
Best Supporting Actor Female: Shweta Tripathi for Masaan
Best Supporting actor male: Sanjay Mishra for Masaan
Best Background score: Sanchit Balhara for Bajirao Mastani
Best Visual effects: Prasad Sutar for Bajirao Mastani
Best Action: Shyam Kaushal for Bajirao Mastani
Best Choreography: Ganesh Acharya for Malhari -Bajirao Mastani
Best Cinematography: Sudeep Chatterjee for Bajirao Mastani
Best Story: Juhi Chaturvedi for Piku
Best Dialogue: Juhi Chaturvedi for Piku
Best Screenplay: Juhi Chaturvedi for Piku
Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema: Ajay Devgn
Best Lyrics: Varun Grover for Moh Moh Ke Dhaagey – Dum Laga Ke Haisha
Best Music: Anu Malik for Dum Laga Ke Haisha
Best Female Playback Singer: Shreya Ghoshal for Mohe Rang Do Lal – Bajirao Mastani
Best Male Playback Singer: Mohit Chauhaan for Matargashti – Tamasha and Arijit Singh for Sooraj Dooba- Roy