IDEA IIFA Nominations 2008 announced by Amitabh Bachchan (Bollywood Oscars, Bangkok, June)

The announcement of the Nominations was done as a result of the industry voting for the Idea IIFA Awards in March. Results of the industry voting were audited by PriceWatehouse Coopers, the auditing firm for the IIFAs and Oscars.
The Voting by fans and supporters of Indian Cinema is now open on www.iifabuzz.com that begins from April 15th 2008 and continues till the end of May 2008. The results of the online voting would determine the winners of the IDEA IIFA awards.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, IIFA Brand Ambassador said, “Nothing celebrates the grandeur of Indian Cinema as extravagantly as the IIFAs. It is indeed a great pleasure to announce the nominations for IDEA IIFA Awards 2008 and to open the voting for the coveted awards on IIFA Buzz.com. IIFAbuzz.com is a one stop shop for all the latest news on IIFA for the Indian cinema aficionados and a source of reliable and exclusive information on the Indian Film Industry. This new initiative is a reiteration of IIFA’s vision to constantly innovate and stay contemporary.”

IIFA continues its association with Idea Cellular Pvt Limited, India’s leading service provider. Speaking on the association with IIFA, Mr. Pradeep Shrivastava, Chief Marketing Officer, Idea Cellular said, “IDEA IIFA Awards offers us the best platform to demonstrate the true essence of mobile and entertainment convergence.

With Idea IIFA there is an unmatched value we provide to our customers by providing them the three aspects of entertainment that engage them through the all powerful mobile phone. With IDEA IIFA Awards, our privileged customer will have access to specially created merchandise, contests, video and MMS downloads and several other value added services. Only Idea can take you there.”

IIFA’s Global Business Forum, an international platform initiated by IIFA to facilitate and exchange ideas and innovations in 2002 has today grown to be a place of big ideas, international business and networking. The FICCI-IFFA Global Business Forum 2008 in Bangkok aims to bring together business leaders, policy makers and dignitaries from around the world to deliberate on key industry verticals like Infrastructure and Real Estate, Drugs, Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals, Films amongst others. Dr. Amit Mitra, General Secretary, FICCI said “The FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum is a dynamic global platform that over the years has grown in stature, depth and of course numbers. It has provided industry a forum to discuss a diverse spread of business, bilateral economic and political issues.”

“It is heartening to the growth IIFA has witnessed in the past 8 years of its existence and the impact it has had on the minds and hearts of people across the globe.
I believe innovation has been the driving force behind IIFA’s phenomenal growth and in tandem with the same we are proud to announce the launch of IIFABuzz.com, the official voting site for the coveted IDEA IIFA Awards Bangkok. IIFA Bling, our fashion line, is a reflection of the trends and styles that are influenced by the Indian Film Industry. It is a platform which invites movie fans to experience stardom. 

We are committed to providing the best in entertainment to our audiences and IIFA Bangkok will reinforce our vision of bringing people together for the grandest celebration of Indian Cinema,” said Sabbas Joseph, Director, Wizcraft International Entertainment Ltd.

IIFA Bling collection, an exclusive premium fashion line, in collaboration with BIBA, introduced at a Fashion Show is inspired by the glam and glitz of Indian Cinema. Vikram Phadnis, Bina Kapur, Renu Chopra along with other leading designers have contributed to the IIFA Bling fashion lines. 
Vikram Phadnis’s designs draw inspiration from Mr. BR Chopra’s forthcoming film, Bhoothnath starring Amitabh Bachchan and Juhi Chawla.

 The IIFA Bling Collection will be exclusively showcased at the IIFA Weekend 2008 in Bangkok and thus be accessible to a global audience.  

This year, the IIFA Weekend will be held from June 6-8, 2008 in the amazing city of Bangkok, Thailand which is South East Asia’s premier location drawing over 12 million visitors a year. Thailand is renowned for its stunning natural beauty, ancient temples and hospitable people. Bangkok is a modern city that retains its historical traits. It is an economic and financial centre with a wealth of cultural sites, making it one of the world's most popular tourist destinations.

The people of Thailand believe in honesty, enterprise, delivering on promises, striving to achieve success and creating opportunities for all. The IIFA Weekend is the perfect platform for people and businesses to come together and collaborate to create economic opportunities for the region.

The Idea IIFA Awards is broadcast on the Star Television network and the final presentation night with exciting star-studded performances will reach global viewers this June. Star TV is India’s most-watched satellite channel. Along with terrestrial broadcasters from across more than 50 countries, IIFA programming reaches an audience of over 500 million people, making it one of the most-watched events in the world.

Speaking about the IIFA weekend to be held between June 6 to 8 at Bangkok, Keertan Adyanthaya, GM and EVP, STAR India said, “The IIFA Weekend can only get bigger and better. In its ninth year, IIFA celebrates Indian Cinema on a global platform.
We bring to millions of viewers across India, US, UK and South East Asia a truly memorable celebration of Indian Cinema. It is the most prestigious of International events and attended by the who’s who of the Indian and foreign film fraternity and acclaimed national and International celebrities.
The viewers will not only get to see legends and popular super-stars from Indian cinema but will also feature some awe aspiring performances from some of the hottest stars of the Indian film industry on the same platform with international icons.”

International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) is a movement pioneered by Wizcraft International and brings together the worlds of Indian and International Cinema and business on one common global platform. It strives to build bridges through cinema to create one people, one world.

 Also present on the occasion were IIFA 2008 associates and supporters, Mr. Khun Chirasak, Ambassador of Thailand Mr. Pradeep Shrivastava, Chief Marketing Officer of IDEA Cellular,