With Khans absent, Singapore IIFAs kick off with Bollywood’s young stars

The mighty Khans were not in Singapore to kick off the 13th editon of International Indian Film Academy Awards, but the new breed of actors including Farhan Akhtar, Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin and Chitrangda Singh took charge on Thursday.

“We have lots of entertainment planned over the next three days,” said Akhtar at a press conference.

The actor-director, who leads the nominations race with blockbuster Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, will host the much-anticipated IIFA Awards on Saturday.

“In 2004 at the IIFAs, I was a nervous nominee but this year I hope to be a confident host,” said Akhtar.

For the first time, South Indian cinema has been given a berth at the three-day Bollywood extravaganza. Representing the industry is South Indian idol Kamal Haasan.

“The Indian film industry is very diverse. I am proud and grateful that IIFA has included me as an actor. I am honoured to be on the same dias as Shabana Azmi and others,” said Haasan.

Azmi used the platform to demonstrate her pride towards Indian cinema and its progress.

“Indian cinema is an idea whose time has come. As we celebrate our 100th year, it has become evident that Indian cinema has become a global phenomenon. IIFA has taken Indian cinema and put it on the international map,” said Azmi. The legendary actress also called upon Indian filmmakers to make films that celebrated Indian culture.

“It has become incumbent on us to take our own culture and take it to the international community by saying that this is our identity, this is who we are embrace us. We are not going to tailor-make it to what your idea of what Indian cinema is,” said Azmi. Veteran ator Rishi Kapoor was quick to second her. “I would like to state that in those 100 years of Indian cinema, my family has been serving the Indian industry for 80 years,” he said.

The IIFAs opening film, Shanghai, which premieres Thursday night, also aims to focus attention on India.

“Shanghai is about India and the reality that we live in,” said its director Dibakar Bannerjee. A tired Deol, the film’s lead actor, peddled his project from behind over-sized sunglasses. “My flight was delayed and we have been travelling all over India promoting Shanghai. I was just at the JNU college in Delhi, the political hotbed in India, speaking to students. It’s going to be a long day.”