Star-Studded IIFA Opening Weekend: Glitz, Glamour and Hysteria greet IIFA in Toronto
23rd June 2011: The glitz, glamour and the love and hysteria of fans were unleashed at the opening of the Videocon d2h IIFA Weekend in Toronto. A flash mob took centre stage as the three-day celebrations were inaugurated by the Premier, Honorable Dalton McGuinty in the presence of Indian film royalty comprising film stars, directors and producers, getting the IIFA Celebrations off to a magical start. All eyes are on the star-studded glamorous Floriana IIFA Awards as they make their debut in North America.
The weekend will bring together the Indian film industry, dignitaries from India and Canada, business leaders, international media and Indian Cinema fans from across the globe. After a high octane Weekend that includes the World Premiere of Double Dhamaal, the IIFA Film Festival, the fashion and music spectacular IIFA Rocks presented by Grey Goose, the IIFA Music Workshop and the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum, the weekend will culminate with the ultimate in glamour and entertainment, the Floriana IIFA Awards.
16,000 tickets went on sale in January to the general public for the Floriana IIFA Awards. The tickets were scooped up by fans in less than 10 minutes. Ticketmaster states that over a 100 tickets were sold every 10 seconds. 22,000 fans will be in attendance at the Rogers Centre come the 25th of June and will reach out to an estimated 700 million fans worldwide.
“We worked hard to land IIFA’s North American debut and we’re excited it’s finally here. This festival will draw more visitors to our communities and showcase Ontario as a great place to live, visit and do business.” said Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario
‘Friend of IIFA’, Anil Kapoor said, “I am thrilled to be a part of yet another IIFA. It is an event that I look forward to every single year and I could not be happier that they have chosen Toronto as the host city for his years’ celebrations. I would like to thank the Government of Ontario, the Honourable Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty and the people of Toronto for the incredible hospitality extended to us.”
Speaking on the North American debut and the reinforcement of Indo-Canadian relationships, Sabbas Joseph, Director, Wizcraft International said, “The partnership that we have struck with Ontario will lead to great benefits to both countries in terms of entertainment, trade and tourism. Toronto is definitely the gateway to North America and we hope to maintain a great relationship with this amazing country for many years to come. ”
The Videocon d2h IIFA Weekend 2011 began today in the heart of Toronto with a host of events and festivities. Day one of the Weekend opens with a press briefing with a host of stars followed by the film briefing of the upcoming Indian film, Love Breakup Zindagi starring Dia Mirza and Zayed Khan. The night will come to a starry end with IIFA World Premiere of the film, Double Dhamaal precede by the IIFA Green Carpet. Produced by Indra Kumar and Ashok Thakeria in association with Reliance Entertainment the film is a sequel to the 2007 hit Dhamaal stars Sanjay Dutt, Ritesh Deshmukh, Kangna Ranaut, Mallika Sherawat, Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaaferi and Ashish Chaudhary.
Day two will see the annual FICCI – IIFA Global Business Forum, a congregation of some of the most stellar business minds from India and Canada converging at the Forum to discuss the reinforcement of trade relations. The speakers at this Forum will include The Honourable Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario, Canada, Mr. Shashishekhar M. Gavai, High Commissioner of India, Ms. Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Canada, Mr. Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament and Mr. Harsh Mariwala, President, FICCI.
Kingdom of Dreams, India’s iconic live entertainment and leisure destination, will host a media briefing session, graced by superstar, Shah Rukh Khan, the Global Ambassador for the Kingdom of Dreams. The briefing session will have exciting announcements including the forthcoming theatrical productions, to be launched at the Kingdom of Dreams in the coming months.
The IIFA Film Festival will kick off in the afternoon with the movie ‘Chillar Party’ in Brampton post a green carpet walk for the cast of the film and other stars. The day will end with the prestigious IIFA Rocks presented by Grey Goose will feature designers Rajesh Pratap Singh, designers from The Bay, Sabyasachi and Vikram Phadnis, who will showcase their collections to the amazing music of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
Renowned director, Karan Johar and Anushka Sharma will host the IIFA Rocks event. Major performances will include a tribute to Michael Jackson by his brother, Jermaine with Sonu Nigam. Film stars Dia Mirza and Mallika Sherawat will dance their way into Canada’s hearts.
The morning session of day three consists of an IIFA Workshop on Music, held for aspiring students, industry professionals and anyone who shares an interest in the music of Indian Cinema. The workshop will be conducted by lyricist Javed Akthar, Vishal Bhardwaj, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, and music composer Salim Merchant. In an interactive session with the audience the panel will compose a song in conjunction with them.
On June 25th evening, the Videocon d2h IIFA Weekend will come to a glorious end with the Floriana IIFA Awards where the biggest names in the Indian Film Fraternity will walk the prestigious IIFA Green Carpet. With some incredible performances in store including Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Dharmendra with sons Sunny and Bobby Deol, Kangana Ranaut and Bipasha Basu, among others.
Major focus is on breakthrough films which will be showcased through media briefings. Among these are Azaan, Tell Me O Kkhuda and Love Breakups Zindagi. For the first time an international film, Politics of Love too will be showcased at the IIFA Media briefings.
The IIFA Weekend is presented by Videocon d2h. The magical IIFA Awards are presented by Floriana. Air India will partner with IIFA as the Official Airlines Partner. Grey Goose are the Presenting Sponsors for IIFA Rocks, while Gitanjali Lifestyle are the Presenting Sponsors for the IIFA World Premiere of Double Dhamaal.
Panasonic is the partner for the Greening the IIFAs campaign. Star Television Network is the global broadcast partner taking the IIFA messaging and content across more than 100 countries. The Associate sponsors for the IIFA Weekend include: The Gitanjali Group, Rotomac Pens and Lotus Herbal. Wizcraft International Entertainment are the producers and conceptualisers of the CIBC-IIFA Celebrations, Videocon d2h IIFA Weekend and all events including the IIFA Rocks and the Floriana IIFA Awards.