I didn’t shed a tear when Shah Rukh stood me up, nor did Aamir Khan’s conspicuous absence break my heart. In fact, I’d have relished the opportunity to miss more people at the IIFA awards – perhaps then I wouldn’t have ended up devoting approximately eight hours on a Saturday to first waiting for it to begin and then praying for it to end.
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| Jacqueline Fernandez |
But it would be churlish of me to complain of a little lost sleep when the stars were out in all their glory, so I shall refrain, and simply assure those of you who missed it that reality is going to be much improved upon by the time it reaches your T.V screens later this month.
IIFA played fairy godmother to Sugathadasa Stadium’s Cinderella – stopping just short of providing comfortable seats for those of us who didn’t qualify as V.I.Ps (there’s nothing like seeing a cushion on someone else’s chair to make you feel bad about yourself).
The stage looked twice as big as it was on the film footage being projected, but it really was just as wonderful. Think fanciful props, state of the art L.E.D screens and lights, and a very contemporary oomph factor.
I had plenty of time to appreciate its finer points as I contemplated the fact that IIFA events are no place for people who appreciate punctuality. After waiting for nearly three hours for the event to start, my applause when the event finally began was heartfelt.
It’s a tale of two cities – Colombo loves Bollywood, and now Bollywood loves us back. This point was driven home by almost every star who made their way to the podium.
I can already see the show reel for next year: “I love you Colombo!” and the crowds roar their appreciation. It did get a little tedious, especially if one knew that this fickle lover would be offering the same tribute to Toronto within a year. But we’ve got what we wanted out of IIFA – surely the event will bring tourists to these shores in greater numbers than ever before.
The Sri Lanka show reel in particular revealed the island in all its splendour to millions, presenting a very exotic picture of a beautiful people and a rich culture.
Back to the stars: IIFA delights in pulling rabbits out of the hat, and several celebrities were welcomed all the more warmly for their unexpected appearance (my heart spared a little flutter for the eloquence of Sashi Tharoor).
But for most part, it was pure Bollywood – unlike previous IIFA events where the likes of Van Damme, Jackie Chan and Angelina Jolie made an appearance, no local film stars were involved in the ceremony.
The entirety of Sri Lanka’s acting fraternity that night was enthusiastically if undemocratically represented by the gorgeous Jacqueline Fernandez – who didn’t know quite what to say when Anupam Kher put her on the spot with the question, “who is your favourite actor?” When pressed, she tactfully declared that he was.
Sigh. I think I might have gone for Hrithik-wow-he-sure-can-dance-Roshan.
Certainly the cheers of his fans reverberated loudest through the stadium. But I get ahead of myself, because before Hrithik there was Salman Khan.
One of the images I will take away from that night is Salman, Anil Kapoor and Govinda clutching a dancer’s hand – they’re pretending it’s a mike, and singing for all they’re worth.
After them, not necessarily in this order, came: Vivek Oberoi, Boman Irani, Bipasha Basu, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan. Vivek, so wholesome and vital, threw stuffed lions to his fans; Bipasha rode in on a bike and proceeded to ooze so much sex appeal that I’m amazed we managed to restrain ourselves from mobbing her; Boman played the guitar and convinced the entire auditorium to sing along; Kareena descended, perched on the handle of a gigantic umbrella and proceeded to strut her stuff across a raised stage with her nickname (Bebo!) painted on it; Saif Ali Khan stepped out a giant lattice ball, filled with fawning beauties, and Hrithik demonstrated his expertise with swords and dance moves.
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| Bipasha Basu |
For an encore, the actor performed ‘Kites in the Sky’, the song he debuted in his movie ‘Kites.’ Somewhere in the middle of all this, they found room for a dozen scantily clothed nymphets, choirs of sweetly singing children, comedy routines, colourfully painted rickshaws wheeling about the stage, and of course the awards themselves.
‘3 Idiots’ director Rajkumar Hirani had to traipse back and forth so often, I was tempted to move his chair down to the stage myself. As masters of ceremony, Boman Irani and Ritesh Deshmukh were often hilarious, occasionally boring, but rather likable; Ritesh displayed a somewhat disconcerting enthusiasm for cross-dressing, appearing in several videos as the girl to Boman Irani’s boy.
The two also made much fun of the absentee Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan. Dressing up as their characters from ‘Paa’ and ‘I am Khan,’ they abandoned all sensitivity in their portrayal of two characters with progeria and Asperger’s Syndrome. But this, I gathered, was the norm.
Miss. Universe turned actress, Lara Dutta tempered their performance somewhat, providing a more conventional host. Between the three of them, they rushed through the technical awards (3 Idiots triumphed) and into the popular awards and through to the lifetime achievement awards. Hrithik Roshan made the first of his evening’s appearances when he served as the announcer for an Outstanding Contribution to Hindi Cinema.
The actor’s moving introduction had the recipient – Hrithik’s grandfather J. Om Prakash himself – declare that he was speechless.
Sanjay Dutt claimed to have gone in search of a toilet when his award for Best Comic Role was called, and he left Govinda standing bereft on the podium, but was quickly hunted down for a re-trial.
Watching veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha hog the mike for what was surely an inordinate length of time, I realised that quite a few of the asides and jokes, not to mention the commentary was delivered in Hindi.
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| Sophie Chaudry |
How much could a local audience understand? But in the scheme of things, an actual audience at the IIFA is only required for two things, to applaud loudly and to contain famous faces for the camera to zoom in on.
The former was conspicuously absent by the time it came around to declaring the winner of Best Movie – row upon row of empty seats made it clear we’re not cut out for such late nights here.
The latter were in short supply this year – aside from those who were involved in the ceremony, only comparatively minor stars like Mandira Bedi and Sophie Chaudry were seen smiling and applauding politely.
The entire show was oriented toward the V.I.P section. From where I was seated, I had the dubious distinction of being able to watch the various stars disrobe, cowering behind props as they changed costumes. It was a reminder, had I needed one, that Bollywood’s almost surreal mix of glamour, drama and dance is an entirely manufactured magic. But like any trick, an audience willing to lose itself in a dream is all it takes to make it real.
What they wore
The much hyped awards saw but a selection of India’s Bollywood brigade vying to make their pitch on the glamour stakes. Arriving at the Sugathadasa Stadium last weekend, they sashayed their way down the green carpet in outfits designed to showcase their abundant charms.
Bipasha Basu was a knockout in a glittering orange-red saree worn with a shocking pink blouse, Kareena Kapoor on the arm of partner Saif Ali Khan was in a gossamer thin green and red saree while others went for designer dresses, Sophie Choudry taking a leaf from Cher’s book in a bold black number which left little to the imagination.
Slightly more conservative was Lara Dutta in the in vogue champagne hue, and our very own Jacqueline Fernandez in white who went for elegance rather than the screen siren look. |
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