Tampa Bay, Florida: The 15th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards, an annual celebration of the multi-million dollar Hindi film industry, in its US debut this year, is ready to lend Bollywood’s colour, glamour and splendour to the city starting on Wednesday.
The gala will be “bigger and better” than ever before, said its organiser.
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, with Hollywood celebrities John Travolta, Kevin Spacey and reportedly Ang Lee.
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 Kapoor and Akhtar on Saturday, will be staged at Raymond James Stadium, with tickets priced from $75-$3,000 per person.
Joseph says the ticket sales have been “phenomenal”.
“Tickets were being sold in advance. 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 outstanding contribution to Indian cinema award.
“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.
A highlight of the the awards night will be a livewire performance by Roshan.
“He will be performing in the US after a decade, so it’s going to be very exciting for everyone. I can’t reveal on which songs he will be performing, but it will certainly be great,” Joseph said.
Other highlights include IIFA Expo, a celebration of Indian art, culture and tradition, and the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum, where the theme is ‘Indo-US Partnership: A Catalyst for Economic Growth’.
A masterclass will see Bollywood actress Vidya Balan share the stage with US star Kevin Spacey.
