The Front-Runners

The list of nominations for the 19th Annual Colors Screen Awards is out. Concept-driven movies are

clearly growing in popularity and the star-actor divide has begun to blur

The celebration of good cinema from 2012 gains momentum with the announcement of nominations of the 19th Annual Colors Screen Awards. Last year, moviegoers showed an appetite for different kinds of cinema. While some of the star-studded films have made it across several categories in this year's Screen Awards nominations, the most talked-about films were the ones driven by concept. These entertainers found acceptance from the masses as well as the critics. Here's looking at some of the highlights:

Directors' Comeback

APART from Anurag Kashyap, the Best Director category consists of filmmakers whose previous films didn't make the cut. Anurag Basu, whose Kites failed to soar two years ago, has been nominated for Barfi! in this category. So is Shoojit Sircar, who made a comeback with Vicky Donor seven years after his debut, apart from Sujoy Ghosh, who created magic with Kahaani after failing to cast a spell with Aladin.

Focus on Performance

WHILE a majority of the nominations in the Best Actor (Male and Female) categories include stars, two very interesting names have cropped up in the list. The jury has zeroed in on Deepika Padukone for her performance in Cocktail, Kareena Kapoor for Heroine, Parineeti Chopra who made a mark with her second outing Ishaqzaade, Priyanka Chopra for Barfi!, Sridevi for her remarkable comeback in English Vinglish and Vidya Balan for holding her own in Kahaani. The Khan trio — Aamir (Talaash), Shah Rukh (Jab Tak Hai Jaan) and Salman (Dabangg 2) — makes its presence felt on the Best Actor Male list. Hrithik Roshan and Ranbir Kapoor are there too for Agneepath and Barfi! respectively. Along with this star brigade, Irrfan and Manoj Bajpayee have also gained an equal footing in this category. While Irrfan has bagged a nomination for his formidable performance in Paan Singh Tomar, Bajpayee shone as Sardar Khan in Gangs Of Wasseypur I.

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