IIFA Weekend begins in style

The seventh International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend in Dubai kicked off in inimitable style today, heralding a star-studded four day spectacular that promises to dazzle the UAE with its glamorous fashion, spectacular IIFA Awards presentation ceremony and popular cinema unfolding at multiple venues around Dubai.

The IIFA Weekend was officially opened at the hip-n-happening Grand Hyatt this morning at a press conference featuring Indian superstar and IIFA Brand Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, Star TV Vice-president, Kevin Vaz, Zabeel Investments CEO Mohammed Al Hashimi, Idea Cellular Vice-president Pradeep Shrivastava and DSS CEO Saeed Al Nabouda.

The IIFA Weekend will conclude on Friday, June 16, with the IIFA Awards ceremony at the spectacular Central Hall at the Dubai Airport Expo. It will be hosted by the charm-n-oomph-brigade of Bollywood in Fardeen Khan, Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif. The ceremony will include electrifying performances from leading stars of Indian cinema including Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Rani Mukherjee, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Dia Mirza, Himesh Reshamiya and Upen Patel.

The IIFA Weekend began yesterday with the IIFA World Premiere of Jagmohan Mundra's film 'Provoked,' starring Aishwarya Rai, Naveen Andrews, Miranda Richardson and Nandita Das. The film's cast and crew received a red carpet welcome at the Grand Cineplex in Dubai.

The second day of the IIFA Weekend will begin with the FICCI IIFA Global Business Forum at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and it also includes the inauguration of the IIFA Film Festival.

This three-day film festival, which opens with hit Tamil film 'Chandramukhi,' includes 31 critically and commercially successful examples of Indian cinema. The festival will also give media and cinema lovers an opportunity to interact with the cast and crew of many of these films.

The IIFA Foundation Fashion Extravaganza will be the high point of the second day, with celebrated Indian designers Manish Malhotra and Vikram Phadnis outfitting cinema icons and celebrities with the best of Indian glamour and fashion. Director Karan Johar will also have a special conversation with his film star friends and reveal some of their most intimate secrets during the event.

The black tie fashion extravaganza will help raise funds for the IIFA Foundation, which supports families of behind-the-scenes film workers who have been injured or worse during the making of a film.

The IIFA Weekend and the IIFA Awards will be broadcast on STAR Plus at 8 pm on Sunday, June 25, 2006.

Launched seven years ago at the Millennium Dome in London, the IIFA Awards ceremony has grown into a three-day extravaganza showcasing the best of Indian cinema and providing a platform for its interaction with global media.

The Idea IIFA Awards 2006 is a salutation to the world's largest film industry and has attracted the stalwarts of both Indian and International cinema, including Amitabh Bachchan, Mira Nair, Shekhar Kapur, Angelina Jolie, Kylie Minogue, Jackie Chan, Bo Derek and Miranda Richardson.