At the prestigious Asian Film Awards held very recently, the duo won an award for Om Shanti Om, 2008's biggest blockbuster, both theatrically and musically. The film was the only Indian entry among other Asian films. Also, the awards catered to mainstream cinema which only made the competition tougher.

Reveals Vishal Dadlani, who is of course thrilled about him and Shekhar receiving the award, "It has been quite a pleasant surprise to be recognized for our work at an Asian level. Imagine, our music was competing against Lust, Caution, directed by Ang Lee of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain and Hulk fame."

He goes on to add, "I am told that internationally, these awards hold a stature similar to Pusan International Film Festival, South Korea. It is definitely a matter of pride for us."

Since awards were aimed at mainstream cinema, how were the winners chosen? Was it through SMS/ voting from the public or there was a jury system? "It was through jury. It consisted of film personalities from across the globe like China, Canada, Italy, Hong Kong, US, South Korea, India, France and Germany," says Vishal.

Other Indian nominations in Asian Film Awards were Deepika Padukone for Om Shanti Om and cinematographer Shanker Raman for Frozen. However, they lost out to their other Asian counterparts.

Recently, Vishal and Shekhar also won the Central European Bollywood Award as best composers for Om Shanti Om. The duo has been nominated for most major Bollywood awards this year. Though they lost out on Filmfare awards, they have Zee and Apsara awards to look forward to. Also, they are expected to be on the top of the list in the soon-to-be-hosted IIFA awards.

"Ya, it was great getting the Central European Bollywood Award as well. Now, let's see what do Bollywood awards have in store for us," smiles Vishal.

Courtesy IndiaFM