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Sushmita Sen is amused by stories that she and Shah Rukh Khan, who is making a special appearance in her next film "Dulha Mil Gaya", are at war and insists that they share a warm and cordial working relationship.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali, whose "Black" won three National Awards - best Hindi film, best costumes and best actor award for Amitabh Bachchan - feels Rani Mukerji too deserved the honour for essaying the role of a deaf, dumb and blind girl in the film. "I'd have liked Rani to win a National Award also. For the first time, I think an Indian actor has played a deaf and blind... and with such captivating conviction," Bhansali told IANS.

Vishal Bhardwaj, whose "Blue Umbrella" has just bagged the National Award for best children's film, feels the Indian film industry avoids making good kids' flicks and should learn a lesson or two from Hollywood. "It is sad that our film industry does not feel responsible about making films for children. We have hardly made any film that caters to kids though the children's film industry is huge and untapped," Bhardwaj told IANS in an interview.

From projecting the Nehruvian idea of nation building and giving the rebel a cause to candyfloss romances and evolution of parallel cinemas, Bollywood has churned out thousands of films over the past six decades and has interestingly never followed a trend. "The industry has been very dynamic. Over the past 60 years, many good films have been produced but if we talk about great films, landmark films, we don't have many. Nevertheless, we are improving and showing signs of maturity," said veteran film scholar Derek Bose.

Tisca Chopra, who is riding high after bagging the opportunity of working with the Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan in his directorial debut "Taare Zameen Par", says the offer came as a surprise to her. "'Taare Zameen Par' was a gift for me from the universe. I never expected to work alongside Aamir Khan and the role just happened to come to me," Tisca told IANS.

Veteran film maestro Shyam Benegal, who will be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his outstanding contribution in the field of Indian cinema, is elated and says it inspires him to make the kind of films he believes in. "I am very happy! It is the Indian film industry's highest honour and the most important award, which means state recognition," Benegal told IANS Wednesday on the sidelines of 'Vatarvaran', an environment and wildlife film festival by the Centre for Media Studies here.

The announcement of the winners of 53rd National Awards for 2005 has came a year late but the delay hasn't taken away the thrill from the winners. Be it Amitabh Bachchan or Anupam Kher, all the recipients are happy to be honoured with the country's most prestigious film awards.

Lights, camera and awards. For Bengali filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta, winning a National Award has become a way of life. So when his "Kalpurush" was adjudged best film for 2005, it hardly came as a surprise to him or to discerning cine-goers here. Perhaps no filmmaker since the late maestro Satyajit Ray has won as many National Awards as Dasgupta, at times three years on a trot. But the filmmaker is unfazed and loves to live in his world of magic realism and unreal journeys into the world of lost innocence.

The very versatile Boman Irani is apparently saying no to more offers per week than one can keep track of because he feels it's time to slow down and spend time with his family. "I don't like saying no. It's very tough. But there're very special people whom I've said no to because I don't want to be away from home for months on end," Boman told IANS.

Bengali film "Kaalpurush", Aamir Khan starrer "Rang De Basanti" and Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan were Tuesday named to receive the National Film Awards for 2005 in different categories. Directed by Budhadeb Dasgupta, "Kaalpurush - Memories In The Mist" was named the best feature film, while "Rang De Basanti" was cited as the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment.

Film: "Chak de India"; Music Director: Salim-Suleiman; Singers: K.K., Sukhwinder Singh, Anushka Manchandani, Hema Sardesai, Marianne D'cruz, Salim Merchant, Shah Rukh Khan and Krishna Medieval Punditz; Rating: ** "Chak De India", a much-awaited Yash Raj Film starring Shah Rukh Khan, is set to hit the screens but the music isn't really making waves. Composer duo Salim-Suleiman have not done anything extraordinary or exciting.

Film: Gandhi My Father; Cast: Darshan Jariwala, Akshaye Khanna, Shefali Shah, Bhumika Chawla; Director: Feroz Abbas Khan; Ratings: *** Father to the nation, but not to his own son! Great theme. Huge historic resonance as the father and son happen to be Mahatma Gandhi and his lesser-known son Harilal. What interesting possibilities of drama open up before our eyes as we think of the father and son locked in a mutual admonition society against the backdrop of a demanding, politically anguished nation.