Bangkok, June 9, 2007:

Hi-Voltage awards ceremony marks the end of an exciting IIFA Weekend in Thailand

One of the acclaimed films of last year, a cinematic masterpiece, Chak De India, swept the Awards for Best Actor (Shahrukh Khan), Best Director (Shimit Amin) and Best Film (Yashraj Films) at the Idea IIFA Awards 2008, the highpoint and culmination of the celebrated IIFA Weekend. The film also bagged the Award for Best Story (Jaideep Sahini). Kareena Kapoor added another feather to her cap with the title of the Best Actress for Jab We Met.

The curtains came down on the spectacular IdeaIIFA Weekend in Bangkok, today with the grand finale- the Ninth Idea IIFA Awards 2008 held at one of Thailand’s main attraction, Siam Niramit.

Konkana Sen Sharma and Irrfan Khan won the Best Actor in Supporting Role female and male, respectively, for their fabulous movie ‘Life in a Metro’. Vivek Oberoi’s powerful performance won him the Best Actor in a Negative Role for Shootout at Lokhandwala while Govinda’s impeccable timing got him coveted IIFA Trophy for Partner.

Music Maestro A R Rahman won the Best Music Director for his soulful tunes in Guru.
He also bagged the Awards for Best Background Score and Outstanding Contribution to International Cinema.

While Shaan was rewarded for his rendition ‘Jabse Tere Naina’ from Saawariya,
Shreya Ghosal was recognized with the Best Playback Singer female for Barso Se from Guru.

Amongst the applauds, cheers and ‘thank you speeches’, the Grand Finale- Idea IIFA Awards 2008 was witness to scintillating performances from leading Indian Cine Stars, the likes of which have never seen before.
Govinda, Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor and Akshay Kumar set the stage on fire.

The night also saw electrifying acts from The Mission Istaanbul Team (Vivek Oberoi, Zayed Khan, Shriya Saran, Shweta Bhardwaj, Shabbir Ahuluwalia and Niketan Dhir), Love Story 2050 couple (Priyanka and Harman Baweja), Dia Mirza and Ritesh Deshmukh choreographed to immaculate perfection by Shaimak Davar.

To up the fun quotient to the already dazzling night, Boman Irani and Ritesh Deshmukh played the perfect hosts and kept the audience in splits with their histrionics. Urmilla Matondkar gave the boys company, adding the oomph factor.  

Akshay Kumar, the Ambassador of the Green Globe Foundation addressed the audience on the dangers of
Global Warming that lies ahead of us, a cause that IIFA has strongly been supporting since the past year.

He was also honoured from the country of hosting for building bridges and for which he gave a heart rendering acceptance speech.

This electrifying awards presentation ceremony will be beamed to a global audience and reach out to more than 500 million households on STAR TV, Idea IIFA Awards broadcast partner on 29^th June 2008 at 8pm.

This electrifying awards presentation ceremony will be beamed to a global audience and reach out to more than 500 million households on STAR TV, Idea IIFA Awards broadcast partner on 29^th June 2008 at 8pm.

This electrifying awards presentation ceremony will be beamed to a global audience and reach out to more than 500 million households on STAR TV, Idea IIFA Awards broadcast partner on 29^th June 2008 at 8pm.

This Indian cinema extravaganza is conceptualize by Wizcraft Pvt Ltd and will be produced for millions of television viewers. The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) celebrates Indian Cinema across the globe and this year, Bangkok was IIFA’s destination. 

Being the original Indian cinema awards ceremony to be held in foreign locales, IIFA has always been associated with the best in terms of performances, awards and the celebration of the art and science of film – making.

With a large traveling contingent from the Indian film industry, IIFA has established its footprints everywhere- be it Europe, South East Asia, Africa, The Middle East. The contingent comprises personalities from India across film stars, sports personalities, government leaders and trade and industry representatives- in essence- ‘the best of India’.