58th Filmfare Awards [RECOMMENDED]

The year was 2013. Bollywood was buzzing, not just with the usual gossip, but with a distinct scent of change. The 58th Filmfare Awards, held at the Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai, promised a night of glitz, glamour, and a few upsets. For two men, however, it was the end of a very long, very personal road.

The nominees flashed on the giant screen: Ranbir Kapoor ( Barfi! ), Ranveer Singh ( Gangs of Wasseypur ), Hrithik Roshan ( Agneepath ), Manoj Bajpayee ( Gangs of Wasseypur ), and Irrfan Khan ( Paan Singh Tomar ). A murderers' row of talent.

Backstage, the air was thick with nervous energy and the smell of fresh jasmine from the millions of rupees worth of floral arrangements. Ranbir Kapoor, nominated for Barfi! , paced in a corner, fiddling with the cuff of his black bandhgala. He wasn't nervous for himself. He was nervous for his grandfather, the late, great Raj Kapoor, whose spirit he felt hovering over the night. He was nervous for the film itself—a silent, beautiful ode to innocence. 58th filmfare awards

"This is yours," he said simply. "Jhilmil was the soul of the film."

The pundits had called it: a Ranbir vs. Ranveer showdown. Ranveer Singh, the raw, electric dynamo from Band Baaja Baaraat , had grown into a menacing, tragic king in Gangs of Wasseypur . He was a wild stallion, unpredictable and fierce. Ranbir, the blue-blooded heir, had shed his chocolate-boy skin to play a deaf-mute, Murphy, with a heart as vast as the ocean. The year was 2013

The Barfi! team erupted. Anurag Basu, a man of few words himself, simply bowed to the audience. But as the cast and crew walked up, a moment of pure, unscripted magic happened.

Priyanka, never at a loss for words, was speechless. She clutched the trophy, tears finally spilling over. "I… I didn't win tonight. But standing here, with my family, holding this… I just won something much bigger." She looked at Ranbir. "Thank you for seeing me." For two men, however, it was the end

Amitabh Bachchan opened the envelope. The pause lasted an eternity.