Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor and Soha Ali Khan. The film tells the story of an incident of government corruption radicalising a group of friends from being carefree to passion-driven individuals. Rang De Basanti opened in January 2006 to positive reviews and went on to become a super-hit at the box office. It was chosen as India's official entry for the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film category, while also winning the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and the Filmfare Award for Best Film. Portraying an angry, young man named Karan Singhania, Siddharth's performance was highly appreciated by critics, who stated he was "excellent". He received nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Best Male Debut at the Filmfare, IIFA and Zee Cine Awards. Siddharth's next release was the Telugu family drama Bommarillu (2006), directed by Bhaskar. The film portrayed the relationship between a father and son, in which the father's excessive concern for his son, and interference in his life, leads to the latter harbouring bitterness towards his overbearing father. Cast opposite Genelia for the second time, Bhaskar revealed he chose Siddharth to play the lead role because of his similarities in body language with the character. During the shoot, the director praised the actor's versatility and dedication to the role, adding he was "mesmerised" after Siddharth performed a scene close to four minutes without a cut. Upon release in August 2006, several critics gave the film an "instant classic" status, with Idlebrain.com noting it was "picture-perfect". The lead pair won widespread critical acclaim for their performances and chemistry, with a reviewer from Sify.com stating that it was "another tailor-made role for Siddharth. He is very natural, charming and elegant" and he "melds effortlessly from a casual sangfroid to utter seriousness". Bommarillu emerged as a blockbuster at the domestic box-office, in addition to becoming the highest-grossing Telugu film internationally at the time of its release. His performance in the film earned him his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu. He then worked with director Vishal Bhardwaj and cinematographer Guillermo Navarro on a short film titled Blood Brothers, which premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival as part of Mira Nair's AIDS Jaago project. His next release was Aata (2007), an action drama film alongside Ileana D'Cruz, which received mixed reviews from critics. Following