Best musicians of the decade feted at glitzy, star-powered ceremony in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Paving the path amid the pandemic, the 13th edition of the Smule Mirchi Music Awards was held in Madh Marve on March 11-12 with full Covid-19 protocol. The glittering ceremony ensured the use of masks, sanitiser and temperature-oximeter checks for all attendees, proving a trendsetter yet again.
No new films or albums were released in the physical space through most of 2020 owing to the nationwide lockdown.But determined to keep the torch of India’s leading music awards burning bright, the organisers came up with a unique concept called ‘Dus Saal Bemisaal’ which focused on celebrating and recognising the best talent the music industry has generated in the past 10 years.
The music of ‘Agneepath’ blazed a trail by bagging several prominent awards—‘Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin’ won Song of the Decade and earned Sonu Nigam the honour of Male Vocalist of the Decade. Ajay-Atul won Music Composer of the Decade for the same number.

Shreya Ghoshal was presented the Female Vocalist of the Decade award for her masterful rendition of ‘Mohe Rang Do Laal’ from ‘Bajirao Mastani’. Imtiaz Ali’s film ‘Rockstar’ was judged Album of the Decade.
The main soiree hosted by Sonu Nigam was attended by prominent artistes and celebrities such as Sonu Sood, Ila Arun, Shravan Rathod, Mithoon, Ajay Atul, Armaan Malik, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Aditya Narayan, Antara Mitra, Shruti Pathak, Javed Ali, Palak Muchhal, Yashraj Mukhate, Shweta-Shraddha Pandit, Salim-Sulaiman, Jigar and Krystal D’Souza, Iulia Vantur, Jeet Ganguly, Shantanu Moitra, Shail Hada, Vijay Dayal and the Miss India winners.
The evening unfolded on a touching note as Sonu Nigam sang a heartfelt tribute to the film luminaries and musicians who passed away recently. Meet Bros and Khushboo Grewal with Smule’s Mirchi Cover Star Season 3 winner Chirag Chopra performed a tribute to Covid warriors.
Star-studded performances included Dhvani Bhanushali’s Gen Z act, Shruti Pathak and Aditya Narayan’s ‘jugalbandi’ hosting, Tulsi Kumar’s act, Bharti Singh’s comedy and Rajkummar Rao’s special appearance. Kanika Kapoor, Antara Mitra and Anusha Mani performed the best songs of the decade.
The ceremony honoured winner categories such as Song of the Decade, Album of the Decade, Male and Female Vocalist of the Decade and Music Composer of the Decade. The winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award was singer Bhupinder Singh, also an able guitarist known as the instrumentalist behind ‘Chura Liya Hai Tumne...’.
Prashant Panday, MD & CEO, Mirchi, said, “Over the last 13 years, Smule Mirchi Music Awards has established itself as the country’s leading awards platform that celebrates the unparalleled talent in our music fraternity. It brings together industry stalwarts, budding artists and (creates) electrifying performances for an evening of music and entertainment. This year, we mark the end of an exciting decade that brought some of the best voices, tunes and behind-the-scenes talent. And through our ‘Dus Saal Bemisaal’ theme, we say music ko Mirchi ka salaam.”
Viewers can catch all the live action @MirchiWorld on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or log on to www.mirchimusicawards. com.
(The Mirchi Music Awards will be telecast on Colors channel at 9pm on Sunday, March 28)