IIFA awards night wows fans

Though Shah Rukh Khan was not present to pick up the Best Actor award, his film Chak De India swept the IIFA 2008 awards on Sunday night.

There is not doubt that a Bollywood is unbeatable, and in spite of the Big B's aversion for the word, the IIFA awards night proved that Bollywood is a 'brand' that's beyond compare.

Bangkok was the winner of this three-day extravaganza, as one Bollywood star after another raved about their IIFA experience.

The grand awards night on Sunday was the proverbial icing on the cake, the only sour point being the limited seating which deprived more fans, and locals, from witnessing this absolutely spectacular show.

Chak De! India won top honours, snapping up the coveted best picture award. The script won screenwriter Jaideep Sahni an award for best story, while Shimit Amin took best director and star Shah Rukh Khan best actor.

Kareena Kapoor scooped the best actress honour for Jab We Met. Irrfan Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma won for supporting roles in Life in a... Metro.

Stunning performances

The fans were spoiled for choice with gigantic sets (where everything from an elephant to cars, motorbikes, trucks, boats and space shuttles landed) and stupendous lights and sound.

But let's not forget the real reason for all this jazz: the stunning performances from a gaggle of Bollywood stars.

In particular, Akshay Kumar, who only landed in Bangkok from South Africa on the morning of the awards, electrified the audience with a pulsating performance.

He jived on stage with a huge group of black-turbanned Sikh dancers, belting out The Singh is Kiing, from his latest film of the same name, calling to the cheering audience "Everyone of you is a king!"

Earlier, Kumar's voice cracked when he bagged the special award from the host country, Thailand.

"I wont let this award go," he said. "Bangkok is where all my dreams began." The actor explained how he had started life in the Thai capital, working as a waiter in a small guest house, and spoke of a motorbike accident in the city that changed his outlook on life.

A large number of stars have shot films in the country. Deepika Padukone, tall and elegant in a turquoise-blue gown, said she felt she was coming back "home". She had spent two months shooting From China to Chowringhee in Bangkok.

She did her famous Om Shanti Om wave, as she walked majestically to the stage with boyfriend and fellow winner Ranbir Kapoor. Both won the Best Debut Awards. Padukone, looking several inches taller than the visibly self-conscious and uncomfortable Kapoor, had to bend over next to him.

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Abhishek Bachchan, however, was far from uncomfortable, unsurprising considering he had his wife Aishwarya Rai clinging to him (as she did throughout her three-day stay).

The exception was when he won the Style Icon award for Guru, saying he felt like a "clotheshorse."

Rai wore a rich pink Yves St Laurent gown, and giggled throughout the event.

Katrina Kaif wore a sizzling Manish Malhotra red-edged black chiffon sari with bra-like blouse.

Dia Mirza in a black bustier top, tight jeans and boots set the stage on fire with her energetic routine for Acid Factory. She was accompanied by her four heroes - Fardeen Khan, Aftab Shivdasani, Manoj Bajpayee and Dino Morea - all in caps and dark glasses.

Vivek Oberoi, in his first live song-dance number, exploded onto the stage in a camouflage hat and tight, sequinned jeans to promote Mission Istaanbul.

All hell broke lose among the fans when the other stars - Zayed Khan, Nikhita Dheer and Shabbir Ahluwalia, accompanied by sizzling belly dancers Shweta Bharadwaj and Shreya Sharan - joined him onstage.

Oberoi, naturally, was delighted with his Best Actor in Negative role award for Shooting at Lokhandwala and said later at the after-show party that he never enjoyed a show so much.

Kareena Kapoor was a breath of fresh air as she swung lusciously on stage to the rhythms of her new film, and shone even brighter when she accepted the Best Actress award for Jab We Met, saying Bangkok was "absolutely her most favourite place on earth".

Aftab Shivdasani and Ayesha Takia said the same when they spoke of shooting on the streets of Bangkok for De Taali, with even the police being warm and cooperative.

Host Riteish Deshmukh, the third element of the film, played host with Boman Irani, and the two went from one gag to another for five full hours, without losing their momentum.

The only time hostess Urmila Matondkar lost her words was when the sound system failed at one point, and she had to repeat her whole speech again - after a big, give-away laugh that she did not explain to the audience.

Priyanka Chopra and Harman Baweja set an electrifying pace when they spun around he spectacular space-age setting of their movie Love 2050, leaving the audience yelling with excitement.

Govinda couldn't hide his excitement at winning the Best Actor in Comic Role award for Partner, and the comedian swung with his usual style and verve to the wild rhythms of the film, proving that age had not withered his energy at all.

Later at the after-party, he said that he welcomed anyone from Thailand to India, and would personally look after their safety and enjoyment of the country.

The enthusiastic audience gave a standing ovation to the two recipients of the Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema award. Director Shyam Bengal said thank you to his wife for the first time and yesteryear actress Mumtaz spoke of her breast cancer for the first time.

Music director A.R. Rehman spoke more than his customary two-liners for the first time, on receiving the best music director for his score in Guru.