By Parveen Chopra
IANS
New York : About 10,000 fans from across the United States, Canada and even the Caribbean packed the Nassau Coliseum at Long Island for the Bollywood Movie Awards 2007 where Hollywood actor Danny Glover, director Mira Nair and former actress Asha Parekh were among those honoured.
Bollywood stars who performed at the Saturday night event included Vivek Oberoi, Arjun Rampal, Bipasha Basu, Urmila Matondkar, Neha Dhupia and Soha Ali Khan. Mona Singh of 'Jassi' fame was the MC.
Glover, whose film credits include 'Lethal Weapon' franchise and whose performance in the title role of HBO movie "Mandela" earned him an Emmy nomination, was given the award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Entertainment. Nair, the maker of crossover films like "The Namesake" and "Monsoon Wedding", was given the Pride of India Award.
Parekh, who served as the chairperson of the Indian censor board after retiring as an actress, was given Lifetime Achievement Award.
Other awards included: Best film: "Lage Raho Munnabhai"; Best Director: Rajkumar Hirani for "Lage Raho…"; Best Actor: Hrithik Roshan (in absentia) for "Dhoom 2"; Best Actress: Bipasha Basu for "Corporate", Best Actor in Supporting Role: Vivek Oberoi for "Omkara"; Best Actress in Supporting Role: Kirron Kher for "Rang De Basanti". .
The audience that packed the Nassau Coliseum had, however, come to be entertained and they were not disappointed. Macho man Arjun Rampal had them on their feet with his chartbusters. Vivek Oberoi had the women swooning with his romantic numbers. Bipasha Basu and Urmila Matondkar performed to a medley of their songs.
An international touch to the event was provided by Canada-born pop star Raghav, who performed his hits 'Angel Eyes' and 'Can't Get Enough', Pakistani singer-actress Shahida Mini and Caribbean crooner Rick Ramdehal.
Bollywood Group, an entertainment company headed by Kamal Dandona, organizes the annual awards ceremony.
"NRIs carry and promote our culture, values and tradition in the most meaningful manner. Their love for India's culture is visible by the success of today's event," Dandona said after the event.