By Stacey Yount @bollywriter & online at bollyspice.com
For the last fourteen years, The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) has brought the magic of Bollywood to cities all over the world. Conceptualized and produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., IIFA is a global platform that gives Hindi films and its stars an opportunity to reach audiences internationally and to expand Bollywood worldwide.
When I interviewed Director of Wizcraft International & IIFA Andre Timmins for an article on Bollyspice.com, he stated, “Wherever IIFA has travelled, [it] makes a big impact from a cinema base and a base of networking. We want to further increase the penetration of Indian cinema all over the world. That’s exactly what we want to do and achieve.”
This year, IIFA will hit the United States for the first time and Bollywood will descend on Tampa Bay, Florida from April 23-26. We thought we would give you a highlight on what’s happening, who will be there and who is nominated for the prestigious awards.
Of course, to make IIFA shine, Bollywood’s star heroes and heroines have to shine on, and this year in Tampa there is a bumper crop of the brightest. So far the list includes Deepika Padukone, Shahrukh Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Hrithik Roshan, Shruti Haasan, Sonakshi Sinha, Anil Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Sri Devi & Boney Kapoor, Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Shekhar Kapur, Pritam, Anupam Kher, Vidya Balan, Ritesh Deshmukh, Genelia D’Souza, Boman Irani, Fardeen Khan and more (if you can believe it!).
The 15th edition of the Videocon D2H IIFA Weekend in April 2014 will have multiple star-filled events encompassing everything filmi including music, fashion, business, masterclasses and of course the Tata Motors IIFA Awards.
Photo: Bollyspice
The bollyfabulousness begins with the cool IIFA Stomp, a unique celebration of Indian music, dance and cuisine to welcome IIFA to Tampa. Timmins described it to Bollyspice as “something more like a kick-off welcome party, which is free to the public.
We are bringing in DJs from India to play Bollywood music, there will be a mela (fair), and there will be a lot of food stalls. So it is going to be very, very simple but it is going to have a lot of Indian music where people are going to come to party and dance, eat, drink and kind of embrace IIFA for the next 3 days. The city won’t sleep!”
Another highlight is the IIFA Masterclass, which will feature Hollywood star Kevin Spacey along with Vidya Balan. Timmins said, “IIFA has always been viewed as a platform to bridge the gap between the Indian film industry and the international audience. It has been our dream to be able to do this with the participation of Hollywood artists being featured within our events and this year as we debut in America, we are proud to have achieved this with a Masterclass Panel that features Vidya Balan. This panel will be an enthralling event that will create a great platform for knowledge exchange in the world of film and media.”
It being Bollywood, music will also take centre stage at this year’s IIFA’s at two special events. IIFA Rocks, a night of music and fashion, will bring the sounds of one of Bollywood’s best and most popular composer’s Pritam, who will be collaborating with the Tampa Bay Symphony and will showcase the costumes of Bollywood.
Hosted by Saif Ali Khan and actor-comedian Vir Das, the IIFA Magic of the Movies and Technical Awards will be a night of music, dance and awards, with performances from Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonakshi Sinha, Farhan Akhtar, and Bipasha Basu. The spectacular event will highlight the music of world-renowned musician, Ustad Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The winners of technical awards were announced early and are posted at here.
If that was not enough excitement, the crowning glory is the “Bollywood Oscars” aka the IIFA Awards. The awards, which Timmins says will be “magical”, will be hosted by Farhan Akhtar and Shahid Kapoor and will not only announce “And the winner is…”, but also boasts amazing performances by Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha and Bipasha Basu, choreographed by the internationally-renowned Shiamak Davar.
Entertainment Writer
Nominated by the film fraternity, the winners for each of the categories are decided by global voting. You can still vote here.
In the major categories the nominees are…
Performance in a Leading Role (Male):
– Shahrukh Khan (Chennai Express)
– Hrithik Roshan (Krrish 3)
– Ranbir Kapoor (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani)
– Farhan Akhtar (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag)
– Ranveer Singh (Goliyon Ki Rasleela-Ram-Leela)
– Sushant Singh Rajput (Kai Po Che)
Performance in a Leading Role (Female):
– Deepika Padukone, with three incredible nominations (Chennai Express, Goliyon Ki Raasleela-Ram-Leela and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani)
– Sonakshi Sinha (Lootera)
– Nimrat Kaur (The Lunchbox)
– Shraddha Kapoor (Aashiqui 2)
Best Director:
– Sanjay Leela Bhansali (Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela)
– Rakesh Roshan (Krrish 3)
– Rohit Shetty (Chennai Express)
– Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag)
– Abhishek Kapoor (Kai Po Che)
Best Film:
– Dhoom 3
– Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
– Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela
– Krrish 3
– Kai Po Che
– Chennai Express
– Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
International actor Anil Kapoor, a long-time friend and supporter of IIFA, said “There is nothing as unique as Bollywood, and Tampa is in for a treat this year! The IIFAs are a great platform for us to showcase our work to the world. This April, IIFA will bring the magic of Indian Cinema to America.”
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn said, “IIFA is gonna rock the US.”
Tickets for both the IIFA Magic of the Movies and Technical Awards and the IIFA award ceremony are available at www.ticketmaster.com!
Please check out iifa.com for more information! See you in Tampa!
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