MUMBAI: India’s biggest musical extravaganza – the Royal Stag Mirchi Music Awards co-powered by Dabur Red Paste and Baba Elaichi – was held tonight at DOME @NSCI, SVP, Worli. This year marked a change in the usual format - what used to be an event only for the music fraternity, was open to the public for the very first time this year. Limited tickets were sold so fans of music could attend the event and see their favourite Bollywood stars and singers live.

Many Bollywood A-listers attended the star-studded event including Karan Johar, Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Varun Dhawan, Shilpa Shetty and newcomer, Diljit Dosanjh. The night was hosted by none other than the king of Bollywood melodies, Sonu Nigam. There were exciting performances by Amit Trivedi, Papon, Badshah, Armaan Malik, Sukhwinder Singh, Jubin Nautiyal, Shalmali Kholgade, Neeti Mohan, Neha Bhasin to name only a few.

The Awards honoured musical talent across many categories. Karan Johar, who was presented with the Royal Stag Make It Large Award, was visibly moved by the tribute he was given. Usha Uthup was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for her long and illustrious career. Another high point of the evening was the reigning King of Bollywood ballads – Arijit Singh – winning Male Vocalist of the Year.

On receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, Usha Uthup, who was dressed in a saree with mirchi motifs, said, “I am extremely honored to receive this award. I have received a lot of love from the members of the industry and the fans and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the constant love they have showered on me.”

Winners of the 9^thRoyal Stag Mirchi Music Awards