Mumbai: While it might be sometime before the awards season begins in Bollywood, the V Shantaram Awards is quite the early bird in this.

The nominations are valid for films released between September 2006 to August this year. But it certainly took its tagline of Uniting India cinematically very seriously with cinema from across the country was honoured.

So while Malayalam actress Meera Jasmine won the best actress award for the film Ore Kadal, Bollywood also got its fair share of trophies.

Chak de India stole the show with Shah Rukh Khan bagging the Best Actor award, Shimit Amin for Best Director Silver and editing while also winning the Best Film Gold.

"Its great. The credit should go to Shimit, Jaideep and the lovely 16 girls,” said Shah Rukh.

"Its great to receive such an award with so many other nominees. It feels very nice,” said Meera Jasmine.

Cinematographer and filmmaker, Rajeev Menon added, “It’s nice that there are such awards, which is not just a Bollywood awards and it includes the films made in the rest of India as well.”

The awards for Best Music, Best Director, and Cinematography were bagged by Mani Ratnam's Guru. And while the event was low on the celeb quotient, apart from filmmaker Yash Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan, we spotted actress Rajshri Shantaram who returned to India after 43 years to relive her cinematic connection, that with the Industry as well as with her father.

"It was his dream that the cinema should come together,” said actor and daughter of V Shantaram, Rajshri.

The other winners were Lage Raho Munnabhai for Best Story and Screenplay, Arshad Warsi won the Best Supporting Actor award for the same film.

(With inputs from Varsha Pillai in Mumbai)