Golden was the hue of the evening--a specially crafted gold trophy as the "Lady in Black" turned golden, retro performances by top stars and anchoring peppered with anecdotes and trivia from a misty past.

The four main awards of the night were swept up by Shah Rukh Khan (Best Actor for Swades), Rani Mukerji (Best Actress for Hum Tum), first-time winner Kunal Kohli (Best Director for Hum Tum) and Yash Chopra (Best Film for Veer-Zaara).

Veteran poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar attained a distinction of sorts by being nominated for five films in the best lyricist category. However, it was his lines Tere Liye from the film Veer- Zaara that clinched him the coveted golden trophy.

Saif Ali Khan walked away with the award for best actor in a comic role for Hum Tum but the nail-biting finish in the best actor in the supporting role kept the audience spellbound. Abhishek Bachchan beat his superstar father Amitabh in this category to bag the award for his role in Yuva. Rani Mukherji won the best actress in supporting role for the movie Yuva.

Evergreen star Dev Anand won the viewers award for being best actor in five decades while Rekha was adjudged the most beautiful and talented actress in the past 50 years through an opinion poll. Another special award was given to Ramesh Sippy whose Sholay was adjudged the best film of the past 50 years.

The performances kicked off with an anthem composed especially for Filmfare's golden jubilee by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. It was sung by Abhijeet Sawant and Amit Sana, finalists of the popular television talent hunt Indian Idol.

Shah Rukh Khan's delineation of romance down the ages--shaking a leg to popular tunes from the 1960s on, he was accompanied by the original leading ladies themselves, from a bespectacled Vyjanthimala to the gorgeous Sharmila Tagore and the sultry Zeenat Aman, Jaya Prada and Rekha, down to Kajol, Rani and Preity Zinta--was mind boggling.

In keeping with the sepia hue, Lata Mangeshkar, Dilip Kumar and veteran composer Naushad, the first winners of the Filmfare awards in their respective categories, were felicitated by Amitabh Bachchan and CM Deshmukh.

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Rajesh Khanna who was discovered 40 years ago in a Filmfare-United Producers contest.

Compiled by Cultural Correspondent