BAFTAs Recognise Dharmendra's Passing

The 79th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) were held at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Dharmendra was honoured in the In Memoriam section at the BAFTAs.

He was the only Indian actor to feature in BAFTA's posthumous section this year along with international luminaries including Val Kilmer, Robert Duvall, Rob Reiner, Tom Stoppard, Brigitte Bardot, Udo Kier and Diane Lane.

Previously, Lata Mangeshkar, Dilip Kumar, Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor have been honoured in the BAFTA In Memoriam section.

Jessie Buckley wins Best Actress for Hamnet

Jessie Buckley won Best Actress for Hamnet just two days after she picked up the same honour at the Irish Film and Television Academy Awards in Dublin. With this victory, Buckley became the first Irish performer to win the Best Actress prize at the BAFTAs.

Buckley was honoured for her role as Agnes Shakespeare in Chloe Zhao's Hamnet.

'This is nuts,' she said during her speech. 'This really does belong to the women past, present and future who taught me and continue to teach me how to do it differently.

'I share this with my daughter, who has been with me since she was six weeks old, on the road with this. It's the best role of my life being your mum, and I promise to continue to be disobedient so you can belong to a world in all your complete wildness as a young woman.'

I Swear star Robert Aramayo wins BAFTA Best Actor; says 'can't believe I won'

Robert Aramayo pulled off one of the all-time BAFTA upsets when he stunned the room by clinching Best Actor for I Swear, beating some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Aramayo won the top acting honour for playing real-life Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson in the film, which is set in 1980s Scotland. His win came over strong contenders like Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet, Ethan Hawke, Jesse Plemons and Michael B Jordan.

Aramayo said he did not expect the win and shared his disbelief while addressing the audience and fellow nominees. He spoke about how strange it felt to stand alongside actors he had admired for years and said he was still trying to process the moment.

'I absolutely can't believe it. I can't believe that I'm looking at people like you, in the same category as you, never mind that I'm standing here,' the tearful actor, who also stars as Elrond in Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, said to his fellow nominees, as per Variety. 'I honestly cannot believe that I have won this award. I really, really cannot. Everyone in this category blows me away.'

Aramayo also picked up the EE Rising Star Award.

The film's casting director, Lauren Evans, won the casting award, while co-star Peter Mullan received a nomination for supporting actor. I Swear was also nominated for Outstanding British Film but lost to Hamnet.

Davidson attended the first half of the BAFTA ceremony. Due to involuntary outbursts, he left midway through the event. Host Alan Cumming later apologised to anyone who felt uncomfortable and thanked the audience for their support and understanding.

This marked Aramayo's first BAFTA Film Award nomination and win.

One Battle After Another wins Best Film

The Leonardo DiCaprio starrer and Paul Thomas Anderson directorial One Battle After Another is its way to Oscar glory with a grand win at the BAFTAs.

The movie won six awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

Anderson dedicated his Best Director award to the late producer and assistant director Brit Adam Somner.

'You may think that your greatest export is Alfred Hitchcock or Charlie Chaplin, but it wasn't. To me, it was Adam Somner, who was my assistant director and producer for about 20 years. He came over to America, and the line was out the door of people who wanted to work with him because he made us all better,' said Anderson.

'About three weeks into our film, he found out he was sick, and he made it through production. If you've ever gone to work before with someone who's very ill, there's something miraculous that makes you pay attention and reminds you of the privilege of the work that we do. So thank you for sending him to me.'

Ryan Coogler breaks BAFTA record as first Black winner of Best Original Screenplay for Sinners

Ryan Coogler has made history at the BAFTAs.

He won the BAFTA award for Original Screenplay for his film Sinners, becoming the first Black winner in this category. 

Speaking after his win, Coogler shared how the moment felt for him. 'I didn't expect that,' he said, as he took the stage to massive applause.

'This is nerve-wracking. I come from a community that loves me. They made me believe that I could do this, that I could be a writer. And it was amazing to be accepted into the community of film actors, the community of Los Angeles...

'For all the writers out there, when y'all look at that blank page, think of who you love, think of anybody who you've seen in pain that you identify with and wish they felt better and let that love motivate you. I'll be forever grateful for this, thank you all,' he added.

Coogler won against strong names in the category, including I Swear, Marty Supreme, The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value.

The BAFTA win has also placed Coogler in a strong position ahead of the Oscars. At the Academy Awards, he will again face Marty Supreme and Sentimental Value, along with Blue Moon and It Was Just an Accident.

So far, only one Black writer has won the Oscar for Original Screenplay: Jordan Peele for Get Out. Like Sinners, it was a horror film.

Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff