Bollywood's IIFA Awards headed to Toronto

[James]

This is exciting!

Bollywood's 2010 IIFA Awards headed to Toronto

Canwest News ServiceDecember 9, 2009

TORONTO— Toronto will become the first North American city to host a major Bollywood awards show in June, 2011.

The International Indian Film Academy Awards, to be held June 16-19, honour artistic and technical achievement each year in the Indian film industry, known around the world as Bollywood.

The ceremony has been held in a different international city since its founding in 2000.

A joint release from the IIFA and the Ontario government said the awards should attract about 40,000 visitors to the city and another 350 million viewers to television screens the world over.

"With so many film buffs living in Ontario, Indian film stars and executives will feel right at home," said Premier Dalton McGuinty, who is in Mumbai.

Names such as Dia Mirza, Celina Jaitley, Fardeen Khan and Vivek Oberoi might not mean much to most film buffs in this hemisphere. But these Bollywood A-listers who are all headed to Toronto have contributed to an industry that produces twice as many movies as Hollywood and sells about four billion tickets each year in India.

South Asians make up the largest visible minority in Toronto, with about 300,000 — 12 per cent of the entire city's population — living there.

"The city has much to offer and the weekend and awards promise to be bigger than ever as IIFA steps into Canada," said Viraf Sarkari, IIFA's director. "We have earlier experience a great response in Toronto . . . and hope to find the same experience with IIFA 2011.

Previous hosts of the ceremony include Dubai, Amsterdam, Johannesburg and Bangkok.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
A press release from the office of the Premier of Ontario:

Ontario To Roll Out Green Carpet For Bollywood - December 9, 2009

Toronto Chosen To Host 2011 International Indian Film Academy Awards

Ontario will host the 2011 International Indian Film Academy Awards.

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) announced in Mumbai that the 2011 awards will be held in the Greater Toronto Area, June 16-19. The announcement means tens of thousands of visitors to Ontario, millions of dollars for the Ontario economy and hundreds of millions of viewers watching all around the world.

Indian director Ramesh Sippy and film stars such as Dia Mirza, Celina Jaitley, Fardeen Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Preity Zinta, and Hrithik Roshan lent their support as Premier McGuinty thanked IIFA for the great honour of hosting the ceremony. Toronto will be the first North American city to host the Awards, which are held in a different international city every year.

The Awards will cap a four-day celebration of everything to do with Indian film, including a film festival and industry forum.

Quick Facts

    * The IIFA Awards are expected to draw over 500 people from the Indian film industry, about 40,000 visitors and an international television audience of more than 350 million.
    * The first IIFA Awards were held at the Millennium Dome in London, England in 2000.
    * The Toronto International Film Festival welcomes 450,000 people every year, including film executives, movie buffs and everyday citizens in a celebration of film.
    * In 2007, IIFA changed their red carpet events to green carpet events to show their support for initiatives to fight climate change.


Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, centre
Minister of Economic Development & Trade, Sandra Pupatello, left

[Spencer]

Hey James, the articles say June 2011 not 2010.

[James]

Yeah, that's the title of the article on the website it's from.  I think the confusion is that it's the 2010 IIFA awards which are taking place in 2011 in Toronto.  I've fixed it.

[Dolce~oro]

I had heard rumours about this but didn't want to believe it yet! Now I can really jump for joy: Whooo-hoooo!!! Ok, better start saving money for that ticket

[mala]

Does anyone want to venture a guess as to how much a ticket for this may cost?

[Dolce~oro]

I'm budgeting about $1,000, am I close? But Mala, the good thing is, there are plenty of us BollyWHATers in TO, so at least you would not have to pay for lodging

[mala]

I'm budgeting about $1,000, am I close? But Mala, the good thing is, there are plenty of us BollyWHATers in TO, so at least you would not have to pay for lodging

That would be so cool - the ultimate Bollywood experience of a lifetime!!

Hope I can get a job between now and then.

[etu]

I couldn't believe the ticket prices could be so high but this article from 2008 says they started at $1,000 for the last row and went up to $2,000 and $3,500.
http://www.thaindian.com/bollywood/iifa-ticket-price-bugs-indian-fans-4793.html

Perhaps the best deal would be to work as an usher, or something like that.

[James]

Wow, that's a ridiculous cost.  I imagine they're not going to drop it considering a lot of people will be coming presumably from throughout North America to see it.  Ah well, there's always the green carpet!

Here's a clip announcing it with Celina Jaitley and Vivek Oberoi:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTJUNoHx4yQ

Apparently they still haven't chosen the 2010 location, though, which is sort of strange.  I wonder if this is in response to the Prime Minister's recent visit to India and his apparently successful tour (new nuclear deal between the two countries, etc.).

[Darshana]

I know this is definitely a no-real-awards show, it's a show with paid performers with a pretext of "awards" - has anyone been to one?  is it likely to be well-run, or likely to go somewhere on the the "Zee Carnival"  nonsense-to-nightmare continuum?

I don't know of any other outfit that starts prices at $1000 - those are like last-minute scalper prices for the return of Elvis!!   

[James]

I think all the Indian awards shows pay their performers?  Certainly any one of the major awards shows that get shown on television do pay their artists who dance on stage.  You read about it in the news- Aishwarya Rai paid X rupees for dance, XYZ didn't agree to perform because s/he didn't get the right price, etc.  I don't think this is in any way uniquely an IIFA practice.

Agreed about the exorbitant rates, though.  From what little I know, these awards are usually considered to be well run.  There's a section on the website of the BBC for the IIFA awards, if that helps.

[Darshana]

That's good.

I didn't mean about paying performers, I mean paying whoever they give an award to!

[Smartkid]

I was on vacation in Bangkok when the IIFA awards took place in 2008. It seemed to be pretty well organized but alot of big names from the industry were not present. There was heavy security and we couldn't really get anywhere near the event so I'm not sure what it would be like for fans who purchased tickets.

We did however run into Urmila and Vivek Oberoi in one of the nightclubs!

I've watched the IIFA's on TV and the older ones seem to have been alot better. I think the Amsterdam and Dubai ones were very memorable but they seem to have gone downhill since then. This year it was in Macau. 

[Anamika]

Maybe you're a bit too pessimistic about ticket prices. When I went to IIFA Amsterdam in 2005, the main bulk of tickets for the award ceremony was somewhere between EUR 100 and 300 (approx. $ 150 - 450). But maybe this was a concession to the fact that there aren't many NRIs in the Netherlands who could afford to pay more (it still seemed to be too much for many, and about 1/3 of the arena stayed empty).

Tickets for the charity cricket game, where one could see lots of the stars either participating or watching, did cost only about EUR 30, and the stands were absolutely packed there.

Those of you who you plan to go there; be warned - it may all be a little chaotic and running much later than planned, if the organization hasn't improved much since the Amsterdam venue. I remember the award ceremony starting about 2 hrs late, and ending more than 4 hrs late. By then it was like 03:30 a.m. in a chilly, open arena, and everyone was frozen stiff. 

[Darshana]

Anyhow I guess I'd say - for any newbies looking around - any time you think of going to an Indian-run celebrity-focused event: depending on your easy-goingness, or fatalism quotient, and also your budget, I recommend doing what research you can about that organization and how it runs things.

For every story of delilght (and there are plenty of events that do go off fine), there is one or more of : we paid $150 each and stars did not show up, we waited 6 hours in the rain,we paid a lot and had to stand, a security guy took my camera, etc.  I hasten to add - this does NOT apply in my experience to film festivals,  which are usually decently run - though it's worth getting to them early because in the NRI world there are always "special people" who get seated before you!

[Simran_Singh]

Slumdog star Anil Kapoor meets McGuinty
Published On Mon Jan 17 2011


Premier Dalton McGuinty, left, shows Bollywood superstar Anil Kapoor around the Ontario Legislature on Monday. Kapoor, who acts as an ambassador to the International Indian Film Academy, is in Toronto to discuss preparations for the IIFA awards weekend from June 16-19, which will be the first time the Bollywood film awards have been presented in North America.

Ontario got a taste of Bollywood stardom on Monday.

Bollywood film star Anil Kapoor visited the provincial legislature, receiving a personal tour from the premier.

Premier Dalton McGuinty appeared to be so excited to see the Slumdog Millionaire actor that he breezed past two cabinet ministers who joined the tour without saying hello to them.

The premier showed Kapoor the legislative chamber, then gave him an Ontario flag.

The two men hugged before going inside the premier’s office for a private chat.

Kapoor is in town to promote the International Indian Film Academy, which is holding its awards ceremony in Toronto in June.

It’s the first time the international celebration of Bollywood films will be held in North America.

The Canadian Press

[Kishi]

Never been to Toronto, but I have family there and I'd love to crash the awards!

[Poonam]

Amitabh Bachchan out of IIFA

Navdeep Kaur Marwah, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, January 17, 2011

Amitabh Bachchan has been dropped from the position of IIFA’s brand ambassador. The actor remained the face of the international award show for past 10 years ever since the awards began in the year 2000. Bachchan’s post about him not traveling to Toronto (where the awards will be held this year) on the micro blogging site Twitter shocked many including fans and fraternity members.

“Not coming to Toronto IIFA. IIFA says my services are not required,” he tweeted. He even held the organizers responsible for his absence in Sri Lanka last year. “It’s the organizers of IIFA that do not want me in Toronto. Sri Lanka was the same,” he wrote.

IFFA’s spokesperson Sabbas Joseph issued a response this evening saying, “Due to unexplainable reasons, after announcing the event as Brand Ambassador, Mr. Bachchan couldn’t participate in the IIFA Weekend Sri Lanka last year. Following this, IIFA aborted the concept of a Brand Ambassador. Keeping in mind the huge respect that Wizcraft and IIFA have for Mr. Bachchan and the deep relationship that we’ve always shared, we are not having anyone replace Mr. Bachchan. The Bachchan family has been an intrinsic part of IIFA every year, and in this regard we have already shared with them a proposal about their participation this year too. Mr Bachchan’s reason for non-participation is best known to him. IIFA and Mr. Bachchan are inseparable. We will continue to pursue his participation for this year too.”

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Amitabh-Bachchan-out-of-IIFA/Article1-651519.aspx

[filmcrazy]

What is the big freakin' deal? It is not like the Bachchans are going to suffer any losses besides monetary ones for not showing up at IIFA. Plus the parivar act is just painful. IIFA has no credibility.All these awards are a sham. Amitabh Bachchan sounds like a pouting adolescent on twitter.

I feel sorry for the fans who want to see their favorite stars though. They probably spent all that money buying tickets.

[Kajolownsyou]

I'm sorry, I need to laugh. "Our services are not required" haahahaha...just proves that all these award shows are about friendships and networking, not talent. Bollywood has way too many awards...way too many awards that are meaningless. 

[Vinita]

The official website for IIFA Toronto, June 23-25, 2011.

Any BWhaters going?

[latishya]

I'm sorry, I need to laugh. "Our services are not required" haahahaha...just proves that all these award shows are about friendships and networking, not talent. Bollywood has way too many awards...way too many awards that are meaningless. 

Are there any craft-specific awards analogous to the SAG, DGA and WGA? Even in HW, I tend to think these are a bit more relevant.

[mala]

The official website for IIFA Toronto, June 23-25, 2011.

Any BWhaters going?

I'm not....   
But I know a girl who is going, so I'll have to live vicariously through her.

[acooluserrname]

SRK will quite possibly be there. It hasn't been anounced yet, but it's on a back burner. Not sure if he's hosting yet, but maybe so. This information is still kind of sketchy but it's one reason for the tickets going through the roof.

[neela_vikoot28]

The official website for IIFA Toronto, June 23-25, 2011.

Any BWhaters going?

Now that I know the tickets aren't starting at $1000 (phew), I'm definitely considering.
In case anyone would like to know: http://www.ticketscanada.com/International-Indian-Film-Awards-Toronto-Tickets