Both Bollywood and Hollywood A-Listers will be attending the extravaganza. PHOTOS: FILE
TAMPA BAY: The 15th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards, an annual celebration of the multi-million dollar Hindi film industry, will be making a US debut this year. The event will be lending Bollywood’s colour, glamour and splendour to the city starting Wednesday.
The gala will be ‘bigger and better’ than ever before, said its organiser. With names like Madhuri Dixit, Shatrughan Sinha, Shahid Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Hrithik Roshan, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Farhan Akhtar slated to attend the gala, along with Hollywood celebrities like John Travolta, Kevin Spacey and reportedly Ang Lee, chances are the conjecture may just turn out to be true.
Sabbas Joseph, director, Wizcraft International Entertainment, the event’s organiser said: “For a very long time we had the US in mind, but we were waiting for the right time.”
“We were very clear that only when we are completely ready will we go to the US. This time, we are absolutely ready! So I can assure you that the 15th IIFA will be the largest event and it will be bigger and better. We’ll be celebrating the event on a very large scale,” Joseph said.
The main awards night, to be hosted by Shahid Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar on Saturday, will be staged at the spacious Raymond James Stadium, and tickets for it will cost fans anything between $75 and $3,000 per person. Joseph says the ticket sales have been phenomenal.
“Tickets were being sold in advance and the records have been phenomenal this year. Whichever region IIFA has been held in earlier, there has been an increase of 30 to 50 per cent in profit every year. This year, it’s only going to get better,” he added.
Veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha will be honoured with the award for outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. “Shatrughan Sinha’s contribution toward Hindi cinema is huge. His role in the industry is outstanding,” Joseph said of the actor-politician, who is known for films like Kalicharan, Blackmail, Dostana and Shaan in his over four-decade-long acting career.
Actor Hrithik Roshan will also be performing. “He will be performing in the US after a decade, so it’s going to be very exciting for everyone. I can’t reveal what songs he will be performing, but it will certainly be great,” Joseph said.
As far as awards are concerned, film-maker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s National award-winning film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, a biopic on former athlete Milkha Singh, is leading the nominations race with a presence in 10 categories.
The four-day extravaganza has been heavily promoted across the country since the past few months, giving the event a much needed impetus in its first time in the US.
So, with the stage now set, let the celebrations begin!
Published in The Express Tribune, April 24th, 2014.
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It will be a great day for Indians living in the US they will be proud of this festiva;/
The way the Indian film industry has promoted itself and so-called Indian culture should be made into a case study for business school students to read.........and possibly it already has.