When I first heard about an invitation to the Kids Choice Awards ( KCA) – the biggest event hosted by Nickelodeon India and Viacom I could recall vivid memories of Orange & Green. Orange for the vibrant Nick logo on a blimp and green for the omnipresent slime.
Recognised for its notorious Green Slime Mania where the likes of Nick Jonas, Justin Bieber and Chris Pratt have been mercilessly slimed green, the Indian chapter of the awards was as promising as ever.
Soon the plan was made, my teenager and I were to be guests at the award show in none other than our own tinsel town- Bollywood aka Bombay – Mumbai city!
We headed out on a flight on Thursday morning and reached Mumbai at 1 PM. We were guided to our hotel which was so conveniently located a hop, skip and jump away from the airport. The amazing fact of soundproofing at the Taj SantaCruz was another thoughtful gesture.
We were treated to a lovely lunch and then we went away to get ready for the awards.
Viacom 18 & Nickelodeon India had organised a bus to ferry us from the hotel to the venue. A not too long bus ride where we got to imbibe the sights and sounds of Bombay on the way kept us in high spirits. Upon reaching the venue the branding everywhere announced that we had indeed arrived.
The Nickelodeon logo was on bright orange globes. The word KCA were outlined in huge cutouts that had swings, rock climbing and a slide for kids
There was a machine that expelled soap foam in cut outs of KCA and the Nickelodeon blimp. These flew away so fast in the cool Mumbai sea breeze that we couldn’t even capture a click.
Soon we were ushered in to the auditorium at the NSCI dome. In our prime location seats we caught our first glimpse of the stage that was literally from another galaxy. With three dimensional cut outs, LED screens and special effects one felt that a part of the Milky Way was in front of our eyes.
The show commenced with popular actor Kartik Aaryan dancing in via the corridor doing the KCA shake .This signature dance was the move of the evening. Incorporating the floss moves this rhythm got us going. Kartik had three young “stars” to co-host with him. The confidence these children displayed was fabulous. He did a splendid job of hosting and kept the audience engaged. He was also extremely mindful and cooperative of his young co-hosts.
The first performance was by the Meet Brothers who had the audience charged up with the most popular hits of today. Accompanied by Kanika Kapoor we were treated to this foot tapping music.
The awards given out were:
- Favourite Movie Actor (Male) – Varun Dhawan
- Favourite Movie Actor (Female) – Alia Bhatt
- Favourite Bollywood Movie – Tiger Zinda Hai
- Favourite Bollywood Movie Song – Swag Se Swagat – Tiger Zinda Hai
- Favourite Dancing Star – Tiger Shroff
- Favourite TV Character (Male) – Dilip Joshi as Jethalal – Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah
- Favourite TV Character (Female) – Munmun Dutta as Babita Iyer – Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah
- Favourite TV Show – Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah
- Favourite Child Entertainer on TV – Aakriti Sharma as Kulfi – Kulfi Kumar Bajewala
- Favourite Entertainer (Films) – Varun Dhawan
- Favourite Show On Kids Channel – Shin Chan
- Favourite Indian Toon Character – Motu
- Favourite Mobile Game – Subway Surfers
- SPECIAL AWARD: Ishaan Khatter – New Kid on the Block
- SPECIAL AWARD: Maneish Paul – Sultan of the Stage
- SPECIAL AWARD: Deepika Padukone – Power House Performer of the year
- SPECIAL AWARD: Huma Qureshi – Mazedaar Judge
- SPECIAL AWARD: Kartik Aaryan – Dynamic Performer award
We were also treated to acts by the many Bollywood stars. All acts feature the beloved toons / characters of Nickelodeon India like Motu Patlu, Shiva, Power Rangers & Dora.
Alia Bhatt awed us with her dance moves as a school girl. She did indeed light the stage up.
Ayush Sharma was made to do his signature garba moves to Chogada. He also shared how Nickelodeon was his son’s favourite channel.
Deepika Padukone with her 100 watt smile came on stage to receive her award. She charmed us with her rendition of the KCA shake.
Huma Qureshi was also present and narrowly missed getting slimed.
The most electrifying act of the evening was by Sonakshi Sinha. She so owned the stage and left us enthralled with her act. Her energy level was palpable and she didn’t miss a beat .The entire crowd could feel it.
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In true Bollywood her style Varun Dhawan entered the stage from within the audience on an aeroplane.His smooth dance moves and extreme coordination left us all wanting more.
The grand finale of the show was epic. All the stars got atop a bus and went around the hall in a semi circular path. Confetti was showered and they launched tee shirts into the crowd.
What was most endearing and enjoyable was this riotous slime fight where Varun Dhawan and Kartik Aaryan got drenched in slime. Eventually they ended up dousing Sonakshi Sinha in slime as well.
We returned to the hotel in our bus dreaming of all the glitz and glamour we had seen. We enjoyed a lavish breakfast the next morning and checked out. Nickelodeon gave us a bag of goodies on our way out with of course the ubiquitous slime in it as well! This was one of the most memorable trips Nritu and I had.
About Nickelodeon:
Nickelodeon, India’s leading kids’ entertainment brand and part of the Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd, is available in over 100 million households in the country. The Nickelodeon cluster in India boasts of a bouquet of differentiated channels that cater to kids from tots to teens – Nick, Sonic, Nick Jr and Nick HD+ with a host of renowned characters like Motu Patlu, SHIVA, Gattu Battu, Rudra, Dora and Spongebob SqauarePants, amongst others. The Nickelodeon cluster also has an ecosystem that extends beyond television into Consumer Products, on-ground and digital platforms.
