Shefali Shah and Neeraj Kabi both won the Editor’s Choice: Best Actor Male and Female Awards at Power Brands: Bollywood Films Journalist’s Awards (BFJA) presented by Times Now for their performances in ‘Once Again’.
The jury consisted of 24 journalists and critics, who presented the awards on February 11th at Novotel, Juhu.
Kanwal Sethi's 'Once Again' is an unusual and mature love story of Tara, played by Shah, a widowed mother who runs a small restaurant and one of her customers, a popular film actor Amar (Neeraj Kabi), who she delivers his daily meals. After years of talking over phone calls, and notes exchanged through the lunchbox, Amar chooses to drop by her restaurant. Initially astonished, she soon warms up to the idea of putting a face to their conversations, but only to realise that people around them are watching. The film is produced by Jar Pictures and Sanjay Gulati.
Receiving an overwhelming response to the film, which is also available on Netflix, Shah says, "There are big films with huge production houses, huge star casts, big budgets, huge money for publicity backing them. And then, there are small intimate films which are made from the heart and shared with that sole purpose. 'Once Again' is such a film, made with all our love. But it couldn’t have received your love if it had not been for you’ll and the journalists loving it, sharing it and spreading the word of mouth. That’s why this award that’s been judged by top journalists means so much. Thank you, everyone, for the love and appreciation. It is a true example of the metal of a film. And Thank god my date didn’t abandon me!“
Shah was last seen in Richie Mehta's series 'Delhi Crime Story', based on the authentic case files of the harrowing 2012 Delhi gang-rape case, alongside a Rasika Dugal, Rajesh Tailang, Adil Hussain, Gopal Datt and Vinod Sherawat. It premiered at Sundance 2019 and will stream on Netflix from March 22.
Well-known for his powerful performance as a corrupt yet polished policeman in the sensational series Sacred Games, Kabi's next venture will see him star alongside Abhay Deol, Ronit Roy, Prem Chopra, Ekavali Khanna and Hollywood actor Brendan Fraser, in Rohit Karn Batra’s gangster saga 'Line of Descent'. The film is currently at the European Film Market during the Berlin International Film Festival.