Filmworld
Glitz and biz: 'Larger than life' IIFA Weekend in Kuala Lumpur (Preview)
Kuala Lumpur, June 3
There will be the glitz,
glamour and the business of Bollywood at the forthcoming edition of the
three-day International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards
from June 5. It promises to be "larger than life" with a focus on
commercial opportunities between host country Malaysia and India.
After
travelling to London, Dubai, Macau, Toronto and Singapore, the IIFA
extravaganza, which celebrates Indian cinema annually abroad, is heading
to Malaysia for the second time for its 16th edition. Established in
2000, the gala was held at Genting Highlands Resort, Malaysia, in 2002
and, if one goes by the buzz, this edition will attract a whole lot of
Bollywood fans.
"This edition is coming of age. It will be larger
than life. There is also growing support of film industries from
international countries for the IIFA movement and that's important,"
Sabbas Joseph, director, Wizcraft International Entertainment, the
organisers of IIFA, told IANS.
"We will be promoting Malaysia in a
big way. There will be exciting opportunities for tourism... Trade and
business opportunities between Malaysia and India are definitely focus
for us. Later in the year, the ASEAN Summit will take place (in
Malaysia) too; so it is a great building ground for that," he added.
With
delegates expected from various countries like China, Sri Lanka and
Thailand, a "white paper will be launched on day one at the business
forum where we will talk about the power of film tourism".
IIFA
has seen Hollywood stars like Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Kevin Spacey
and John Travolta gracing the gala in its various editions. But any
foreign talent this year has been kept under wraps till the last minute.
Among
those from Bollywood who will light up the stage at the Stadium Putra
here on the awards night on June 7 are Hrithik Roshan, Anushka Sharma,
Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar, Parineeti Chopra, Shraddha Kapoor,
Sonakshi Sinha and Shahid Kapoor.
"It will be larger than life," Joseph stressed.
Hosted
by actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Parineeti Chopra, IIFA Rocks, an
exclusive music extravaganza, will see a host of musical performances by
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Mika, Ankit Tiwari, Kanika Kapoor, Javed Ali and
the Nooran sisters.
Sonakshi, who will be soon seen as a judge on
singing reality show "Indian Idol Junior", will also display her
singing skills at IIFA Rocks on June 5.
"There will be some
exciting first-ever too at the IIFA Weekend and Awards. Sonakshi is
going to take the stage as a singer at IIFA Rocks," he said.
He
is also excited about the hosts this year -- the crackling duo of actors
Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor, who were in trouble for the
controversial AIB Roast video earlier this year.
"You can imagine the madness, magic and mischief," Joseph said.
Another highlight will be the screening of "Dil Dhadakne Do".
"The
complete star cast will be in attendance. They will interact with fans
and people from the film industry," said Joseph, about the Zoya Akhtar
directorial, starring Anil Kapoor, Ranveer, Priyanka Chopra, Farhan
Akhtar and Anushka Sharma.
There will also be a dose of fashion at the Fashion Extravaganza on June 6.
Hosted
by actors Vivek Oberoi and Neha Dhupia, it will see quirky designs by
Masaba Gupta, who will present a line inspired by the IIFA trophy.
"We've
got Fashion Extravaganza featuring Rocky S, Masaba and Gaurang Shah.
There will be different kinds of collections from each of them. Masaba
is doing a special collection for IIFA. It is inspired by the trophy...
the gold and black. It has the sun graphics also because the IIFA trophy
is inspired by the sun," said Joseph.
Writer-filmmaker Subhash
Ghai, known for making movies like "Karz", "Hero", "Karma", "Saudagar",
"Khalnayak", "Pardes" and "Taal", will be conferred the lifetime
achievement award.
With about 800 Indian delegates, consisting of
business officials, people from the film industry, dancers and models,
flying to Kuala Lumpur for IIFA, Joseph promises that it will offer
"different dances, style and more".
(Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at [email protected])