Over 20,000 fans witnessed the grand opening of a star-studded extravaganza, which began late Saturday night, to honour Bollywood personalities for their performances in the last year.
The elaborate set decoration, mega decibel music and presence of top names of the Indian film industry - Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek, Aishwarya, Yash Chopra, Shilpa Shetty, the Deols, Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta - made the event a spectacle for the audience. Speaking at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony, Amitabh praised Yorkshire for its hospitality and added that last year was eventful for the Indian film industry as not only did it taste major achievements but also new genres of filmmaking were experimented with. He reiterated that Bollywood now had a global platform. The awards night has begun well for "Dhoom:2", "Fanaa" and "Rang De Basanti", as they have bagged two awards each. The Best Editor's award has gone to P.S. Bharti for "Rang De Basanti", Best Make-up award was bagged by J.A. James for "Dhoom:2" and Anaita Shroff Adajania won the Best Costume award for her brilliant innovations with outfits in "Dhoom:2". Versatile singer Sunidhi Chauhan received the Best Female Singer award for her runaway hit song 'Beedi Jalaile...' from the film "Omkara", Bollywood's adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Othello". Meanwhile, Shaan bagged the Best Male Singer award for 'Chand Sifarish...' from the film "Fanaa". The Best Lyricist award has gone to Prasoon Joshi for penning the song 'Chand Sifarish...' from "Fanaa" while A.R. Rahman has won the Best Music award for his soulful melodies in "Rang De Basanti". The versatile Boman Irani and svelte Lara Dutta are hosting this year's IIFA awards, which marks the end of the IIFA Weekend that brought top names of the Indian celluloid to the island. IIFA had decided to roll out a 'Green Carpet' this year, deviating from the tradition of a 'Red Carpet' welcome to celebrities, as it has taken up environmental issues in a bid to save the planet. The grand finale will be showcased to around 500 million people across the world. http://newspostindia.com/report-2893
