Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel during the IIFA Awards. Photo courtesy Andrew Adams Photography
The pillars of excitement at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel during IIFA were definitely the stars. Every time a Bollywood star entered or left the hotel, a bubble of excitement burst in the lobby, resulting in a chorus of near-hysterical cheers. I had a media pass, so I was able to gain access to off-limit areas, and it became normal for me to see stars like Anil Kapoor, Sonu Sood, Ritesh Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Priyanka Chopra, Boman Irani, R. Madhavan, Dia Mirza, Zayed Khan, Sharman Joshi, Shabana Azmi and Harman Baweja milling around the hotel. (more…)
Bollywood actor Sonu Sood and fans in the lobby of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel during the IIFA Awards. Photo courtesy Andrew Adams of Katha Images.
Bollywood in Toronto
Staying at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, the host hotel for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards in Toronto, gave me a unique and close-up look at both the behind-the-scenes action and the fans. I have lived in India, so I was not at all surprised by the fan frenzy: Indian movie stars have the biggest and most loyal fan followings in the world. Hands down. No comparison. (more…)
Shahrukh Khan arrives at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel for the 2011 IIFA Awards
Some of my readers will have no doubt, others will be totally surprised to learn: Shahrukh Khan (often known as SRK or King Khan) is the world’s number 1 movie star. By far. Any number or metric you want to use to measure — loyalty, fan base, power, influence, sheer hysteria — will show SRK way out in front. He is NOT the Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt of India. We do not have stars in the west the way they do in India. There are probably 1 billion people — that’s about one-quarter of the planet — who would give Shahrukh their kidney, if he needed it. (more…)
Sonu Nigam, Anupam Kher, Bipasha Basu and Ritesh Deshmukh at IIFA press conference
Bollywood lays it on thick
It’s only Day 1 of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards extravaganza in Toronto, and there’s already enough hype, madness, feuds, controversy, gossip and stars to fill the most epic Bollywood blockbuster. If you read my post, Bollywood primer, you’ll know that Bollywood operates like a big family, with all the drama that entails.
Mallika Sherawat at IIFA press conference
Here at the epicentre of it all, the grand Fairmont Royal York Hotel — I’m calling it Bollywood ground zero — the action never stops. Twice a day, planes from Mumbai land, carrying a dozen or more stars. In fact, two airlines actually changed their flight schedules to accommodate IIFA — which is unbelievable. When they arrive at the hotel, there’s a media and fan frenzy. (more…)
Fairmont Royal "Raja" York kicks off Bollywood week with an Indian-food inspired lunch
The Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto has “gone Indian” for the 12th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, June 23-26, 2011. Renamed the Fairmont “Raja” York Hotel for the week, the landmark hotel has also introduced the Raj Kapoor Martini and several other cocktails and mocktails, and a specially created Indian menu. The hotel is also turning its York’s Deli into Delhi Deli for the three-day show. Indian-inspired foods the hotel will be serving include spicy Bombay street snacks, home-style curries and authentic recipes such as chai, samosas and pakoras. The iconic hotel is also holding its first-ever Indian Wedding Show on Wednesday, June 22.
Stars such as Shahrukh Khan, Dharmendra, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Rani Mukherji, Sonny and Bobby Deol, and many more are expected to attend.
Here are the cocktails the Fairmont Raja York will be serving:
Jodhaa Akbar with Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan swept the 2009 IIFA Awards
My hometown is about to be invaded by Bollywood. The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards are rolling into Toronto June 23-25, 2011. It’s the first time the IIFA awards are in North America, and it’s a pretty exciting event for Bollywood fans and many of the 700,000 Indo-Canadians in this city. Some of India’s biggest stars are coming including Shahrukh “King Khan” Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Saif Ali Khan and Dharmendra. This year, 2011, is also The Year of India in Canada — so there’s lots of South Asian celebrations happening in the city, and across the country.
I’ll be blogging from ground zero, the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, the host hotel for the IIFA festivities, so check in for lots of news, photos, interviews and stories.
For those of you who are not Bollywood fans, here’s a primer on what you need to know, and below, How to catch the Bollywood buzz, information about where to go, what to see and what’s free. (more…)
Photo of James Cameron and Lakshmi Pratury courtesy of Gene Driskell for The INK Conference
First INK Conference a success, second one in the works
The first INK Conference, in association with TED, attracted 400 attendees and speakers ranging from Canadian filmmaker James Cameron to author Dr. Deepak Chopra to Simpsons cartoon creator Matt Groening to Wired Magazine founder Kevin Kelly. It took place over three days in Lavasa City, near Mumbai, in December 2010 and was organized and hosted by dynamo Lakshmi Pratury — who organized the TED conference in Mysore, India in 2009.
The purpose of INK is to be an annual conference that fuels innovation and fosters knowledge and the theme of the first INK was Untold Stories. Each speaker narrated his/her own untold story in a unique way. The line-up of speakers included well-known names and also lots of lesser known innovators, thought leaders and artists. For a complete list of speakers, click here for the INK Conference site.
But what gets me really excited is the theme for the upcoming INK Conference (December 2011): The Power of journey. (more…)
MAHARAJA FESTIVAL at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Procession of Raja Ram Singh II of Kota and his son at Kota, c.1850 ©V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Maybe it’s because I am so attuned to India and news about India, but it does seem that everywhere I look these days I see a story about India or Indians. The economy continues to shine, Indian writers are winning awards and laurels, the Commonwealth Games were a success (in spite of a lambasting by the western media), the first INK Conference (in association with TED) was held in December near Mumbai, the Jaipur Literature Festival is attracting big names, yoga is constantly in the news … I could go on and on. In other words, people are beginning to catch on to India’s beauty and potential — and not just as a market.
IndiaTourism director Ronjon Lahiri, consul general of India Preeti Saran and Prof. Norm Archer at the Year of India press conference
I predict that this year, 2011, is going to be the biggest year for India yet — perhaps especially here in Canada. For one thing, this is the Year of India in Canada. India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made this declaration mid-way through last year, and preparations have been underway for events to take place across Canada this year. Today I attended the press conference that announced the program, and I will be covering some of the events and activities on Breathedreamgo. (More about the Year of India in Canada announcement below.) (more…)
Saying namaste to the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project
The joy of cross-cultural mash-ups
In some ways, India and Canada could not be two more different countries: Canada is new, India is old; Canada is cold, India is hot; Canada is efficient and orderly, India is chaotic and spontaneous. Yet these cultures are really mixing it up in many different spheres — and certainly in my own life over the past five years. Recently, I attended several India-Canada cultural mash-ups that left me noticing the similarities, the differences — and the misperceptions that Canadians, and westerners, seem to generally hold about Indian culture. (more…)
The meaning of DiwaliDiwali in India is like Christmas in Canada. It’s the biggest festival of the year, celebrated all over India, with lights, firecrackers, flowers, parties and pujas. Diwali (or Deepavali) celebrates the return of Lord Rama and Sita from exile, and the triumph of light over dark. This year, 2010, it takes place on November 5, on the new moon night, so the sky is absolutely dark — the better to see the firecrackers that people set off in an absolute frenzy. If you are Canadian, you can celebrate Diwali by entering a contest to win a trip to India.
The upcoming year, 2011, is the the Year of India in Canada, and the good folks at IndiaTourism are sponsoring a WIN A TRIP TO INDIA! contest, along with Absolute Tours and my friends at Indus Travels — who are my partners for my BreatheDreamGo trips to India. By the way, the tours are closing in mid-November 2010, so if you want to go to India with me this winter, act now by filling out a booking form. (more…)
On the morning of April 14 approximately 10 million people streamed into the sacred town of Haridwar in north India to bathe in the Ganga on the most auspicious day during the 2010 Kumbh Mela. I was one of them. Find out how I found myself alone, and at home, at the world’s largest spiritual gathering.
In Varanasi, where the veil between life and death seems very thin, a boat ride on the river can become a journey to the other side. Come along with me on a boat ride on the Ganges River in India’s oldest, holiest city and pierce the veil.
The Ganges / Ganga River is the Mother of India. The River speaks in many voices as she travels from the high Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. At the source, her song is joyous, full of the the jubilance of youth, the rush of fresh mountain streams, the sincere chanting of pilgrims and the excitement of the onward journey.
