NDTV Indian of the Year 2009

The NDTV Indian of the Year awards were announced at the Taj Palace hotel in New Delhi on Wednesday to honour all those outstanding Indians who helped build Brand India through excellence in their fields.

And it's your votes that decided the winners from among nominations that include outstanding Indians from across fields.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Home Minister P Chidambaram arrives at the venue for the NDTV Indian of the Year awards function.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Former Deputy Prime Minister and senior BJP leader LK Advani arrives at The Indian of the Year award function.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Group Editor - English News, NDTV, Barkha Dutt greets guests at the award function.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

In this picture, NDTV Chairman Dr. Prannoy Roy with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Barkha Dutt with Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Dr. Farooq Abdullah at the Indian of the Year award function.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

NDTV Chairman Dr Prannoy Roy commenced the ceremony by addressing the guests. He spoke about the journey that NDTV has traversed till date.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

He has captured the imagination of Indians and cricket lovers around the world.

Starting at the age of 16, Sachin Tendulkar is the greatest sports icon of 21 years. The latest for this Milestone Man is the first double century in the history of one day cricket, adding yet another feather to his well adorned cap.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Renowned lyricist and script writer, Javed Akhtar with his wife Shabana Azmi at the Indian of the Year award ceremony.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Dr. Prannoy Roy shares an endearing moment with Javed Akhtar and Shabana Azmi at the Indian of the Year awards function.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, with his wife Jaya Bachchan, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai and Home Minister P. Chidambaram.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

One of the most prominent figures in the history of Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan was NDTV's Bollywood icon of 21 years.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Bollywood icons caught in the same frame-- Aishwarya Rai and Javed Akhtar.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Senior BJP leader, LK Advani with his wife and daughter at the Taj Mahal hotel for the ceremony.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Away from the tennis courts, India's tennis ace Sania Mirza looks ravishing in a formal attire.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan with Aishwarya Rai at the Indian of the Year award ceremony.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Bollywood beauty icon Aishwarya Rai made her movie debut in Mani Ratnam's Tamil film Iruvar and had her first commercial success in the Tamil movie Jeans. Rai has thus established herself as one of the leading contemporary actresses in the Indian film industry.

She was NDTV's Bollywood icon of 21 years.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

The superstar and the music maestro caught in the same frame. Shah Rukh Khan and academy award winner AR Rahman at the Indian of the Year award ceremony.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

SRK, Karan Johar and A R Rahman at the awards ceremony.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Winner of the Special Jury Award, Film Director Anurag Kashyap with Kalki, who played the character of Chandramukhi in Kashyap's Dev D.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

A critically acclaimed film director and screenwriter, Anurag Kashyap is known for his controversial and award winning film Black Friday. He is considered as one of the most versatile and prolific filmmakers in contemporary Hindi cinema.

Seen here, is Shabana Azmi presenting the Special Jury award to Anurag Kashyap.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Bollywood's golden couple Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh representing their son at the Indian of the Year award function.

Ranbir Kapoor won the NDTV Male Entertainer of the Year award.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Ranbir has successfully earned the tag of being one of Bollywood's most bankable young stars with two consecutive hits this year- Wake Up Sid and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani. He was the Male Entertainer of the Year. Seen here, Ranbir's mother, Neetu Singh receiving the award on his behalf from Amitabh Bachchan as Rishi Kapoor looks on.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Navin Chawla, the current Chief Election Commissioner of India, speaks at the Indian of the Year awards ceremony. Chawla has been widely appreciated for the successful conduct and completion of the Indian General Elections, the largest electoral exercise in the world. He was honoured by NDTV as one of the icons of 21 years.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Dr. Prannoy Roy with India's Chief Election Commissioners of the past years.

Also seen in the same frame is the current Chief Election Commissioner of India, Navin Chawla.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

The biggest names of Bollywood share the same stage-- Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and A R Rahman. They were acknowledged as NDTV's Bollywood Icons of 21 Years.

Also seen in this pic is Sonia Singh - Senior Managing Editor, NDTV.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Rukhsana Kausar, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, was awarded the Brave Indian of the Year award. She showed rare courage in terror-hit Kashmir, killing terrorists with their own weapon, an AK-47.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Rukhsana took on a group of Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists who barged into her house, snatched an AK-47 from one intruder and shot him dead.

Seen here, Rukhsana receiving the award from Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram as Barkha Dutt looks on.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Under his leadership, Bihar is fighting deluge, corruption, poverty, illiteracy. In conditions where systems have broken down completely, he has been a quiet hard worker marked by integrity and dedication.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was NDTV's Politician of the Year.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

The man who changed the story of Bihar--Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, won the Politician of the Year award. He received the award from Dr. Prannoy Roy.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

2010 has been a promising year for this young filmmaker. His film My Name Is Khan has already broken many records despite all the controversy surrounding it.

Karan Johar was awarded the Social Networking Icon of the Year.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

CEO NDTV Networks Vikram Chandra with Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Twitter Founder Biz Stone live on NDTV with CEO, NDTV Networks, Vikram Chandra at the Indian of the Year awards.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Year 2010 has been a year of controversy for Bollywood's Baadshah SRK. We honour him for not bowing down and refusing to apologise over his IPL remarks despite violent agitations by the Shiv Sena ahead of the release of his film, My Name is Khan.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Priyanka Chopra could not be there at the awards ceremony but she had a message for everyone. She won the Female Entertainer of the Year.

The star has already walked away with seven awards including an international honour. She recently won a national award for her performance in the film Fashion.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

A prolific author, columnist, journalist, human-rights advocate and a humanitarian, Shashi Tharoor became the first Indian celebrity to get 100,000 followers on Twitter. He was awarded the New Age Politician of the Year.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Former Indian cricketer, Ajay Jadeja with his wife at the Indian of the Year award function at Taj Palace hotel, New Delhi.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

For taking Indian badminton to unprecedented heights by becoming the first Indian woman to win a Super Series title with the Indonesian Open in Jakarta, Saina Nehwal won the Sportsperson of the Year award.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Sania Mirza with Sonali Chander, Sports Editor - NDTV at the Indian of the Year award function.

Sania presented the Sportsperson of the Year award that was received by Saina Nehwal's dad on her behalf.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Aradhna Gupta won the Extraordinary Indian of the year award. She has been fighting for 19 years to get justice for her friend Ruchika Girhotra who was molested at the age of 14, in 1990 by Haryana's former top cop SPS Rathore.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director of industrial conglomerate Mahindra Group, was the Business Leader of the Year. M&M under his leadership has emerged as the numero uno in tractors and utility vehicles.

In this pic, Anand Mahindra is seen with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...

The award ceremony was complete with extravagant performances on the famous Bollywood song "Jai ho".

NDTV Indian of the Year: And the winners are...