With the 9th edition of Renault Star Guild Awards on the anvil, the Guild Hall of Fame was announced to celebrate box office success annually. 2013, being a year for big ticket films that saw an unprecedented number of movie-goers with box office sales spilling over the Rs. 500 cr mark, the Hall of Fame is set to include major film titles from the year gone by.

This exclusive club will be launched by Kareena Kapoor at the Renault Star Guild Awards to be held on 16th January, 2014 at the National Sports Club of India Stadium, Mumbai.

To commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of late filmmaker Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, the Guild will also introduce the K. A. Abbas Honour for Cinema with Social Sensitivity. Mr. Amitabh Bachchan will inaugurate and give away the first ever K. A. Abbas Honour on the night of the awards. K.A. Abbas is credited for having introduced Mr. Bachchan as an actor in Indian films. The legendary filmmaker co-wrote screenplays for Raj Kapoor's classics like 'Awara', 'Shree 420' and 'Bobby' among others and also directed films like 'Saat Hindustani' and 'Aaj Aur Kal', among others.

2013’s best cinematic performances find themselves in the nominations for the 9th Renault Star Guild Awards this year. Leading the pack is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s epic drama ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela - Ram Leela’ and Ayan Mukherji’s fresh coming-of-age romance ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’. Unconventional releases ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ and ‘The Lunchbox’ having garnered much critical acclaim along with box office success also find themselves among the contenders.

The Best Actress in the Leading Role category sees the very beautiful Deepika Padukone dominating with 3 nominations for her work in blockbuster hits ‘Chennai Express’, ‘Goliyon Ki Rasleela - Ram Leela and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ along with other stunners like Sonakshi Sinha (Lootera), Nimrat Kaur (The Lunchbox) and Parineeti Chopra (Shuddh Desi Romance). Best Actor in the Leading Role category sees the boys Farhan Akhtar (Bhaag Mikha Bhaag), Ranbir Kapoor (Yeh Jawanni Hai Dewaani), Ranveer Singh (Goliyon Ki Rasleela - Ram Leela), Irrfan Khan (The Lunchbox), Rajkummar Rao (Shahid) and Sushant Singh Rajput (Kai Po Che) battle it out for the much coveted Renault Star Guild Awards. Those up for an award in the Best Director category are Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag), Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox), Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Goliyon Ki Rasleela - Ram Leela), Ayan Mukherji (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani), Abhishek Kapoor (Kai Po Che) and Rohit Shetty (Chennai Express).

Mr. Sumit Sawhney, Executive Director, Renault India Pvt Ltd said Renault India is happy to work together with the Guild in its second year to highlight achievements of distinct personalities driven by a commitment towards passion and excellence. Renault, the most awarded automaker in recent times, understands what it takes to win the hearts of people and also win accolades from a proficient jury. As we have always believed, both the Guild and Renault lay special emphasis on Driving the Change and are therefore a perfect fit with each other

Mukesh Bhatt, President of the Film & Television Producers Guild of India said, 2013 has seen some great work in film and television across genres where a historic masterpiece like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and a crowd-puller like Chennai Express and Dhoom 3 have both seen great box-office success. It is a sign of the evolution of Indian audiences as well as a symbol of the diversity of the Indian film industry and for this reason we have introduced the Guild Hall of Fame and the K. A. Abbas Honour for Cinema with Social Sensitivity.

Sabbas Joseph, Director, Wizcraft International Entertainment Ltd, producers of the awards said, The Renault Star Guild Awards 2014 will see the best performances from the finest pool of talent in the Indian Film and Television Industry. Wizcraft prides itself in putting together this prestigious awards ceremony along with Star TV every year and we’re absolutely certain that this year’s event will be a spectacular convergence of talent, glamour and celebration.