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IIFA in Toronto: The epicentre of Bollywood

by Mariellen Ward · June 24, 2011December 4, 2018 This post may contain compensated links. Find more info in my Disclosure Policy.
This entry is part 3 of 7 in the series IIFA Awards at Fairmont Royal York

IIFA Awards at Fairmont Royal York
  • Bollywood primer: Top 4 things you need to know
  • Fairmont Royal “Raja” York is ground zero for the IIFA Awards
  • IIFA in Toronto: The epicentre of Bollywood
  • Bollywood in Toronto: Fave moment #1 – Shahrukh Khan
  • Bollywood in Toronto: Fave moment #2 – the fans
  • Bollywood in Toronto: Fave moment #3 – the stars
  • Bollywood in Toronto: Fave moment #4: Mariellen at the Fairmont
Photograph of Bollywood stars at IIFA Awards in Toronto Sonu Nigam, Anupam Kher, Bipasha Basu and Ritesh Deshmukh
Sonu Nigam, Anupam Kher, Bipasha Basu and Ritesh Deshmukh at IIFA press conference

Bollywood lays it on thick

Stars at IIFA today included Bipasha Basu, Anil Kapoor, Mallika Sherawat, Dia Mirza, Ritesh Deshmukh, Anupam Kher, Sonu Nigam and Bonam Nirani

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.

Photograph of Bollywood stars at IIFA Awards in Toronto Mallika Sherawat
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.

Photograph of Bollywood stars at IIFA Awards in Toronto Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor at IIFA press conference

There are events all over town, and it’s impossible for one lone blogger to cover them all. Last night I went to the Royal Ontario Museum for a panel discussion, entitled Bollywood, Hollywood and Beyond, with some seriously heavy hitters: Javed Akhtar, a legendary script writer (he wrote Sholay, the number 1 Hindi film of all time!); Shabana Azmi, a trail-blazing actress, activist and politician; beautiful Indo-Canadian actress Lisa Ray; producer Ajay Virmani and long-time star Kabir Bedi. The reception was fun, and I loved the discussion, all about similarities and differences between cinema east and west.

Photograph of Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Ajay Virmani and Lisa Ray at Royal Ontario Museum IIFA event
Shabana Azmi, Ajay Virmani, Javed Akhtar, and Lisa Ray at Royal Ontario Museum IIFA event

One of the highlights of the evening for me was when Ajay Virmani said that script writers should get a lot more respect and a lot more money. Yes! I also loved the trailer for his new film Breakaway — written and starring his son Vinay, who we are calling Capt. Cutie on Twitter. I predict it will be a big hit! It looks like a heartfelt movie (about an Indo-Canadian boy who wants to play hockey).

Photograph of Bollywood stars in Toronto for IIFA Bipasha Basu
Bipasha Basu at IIFA press conference

The IIFA press conference today was pure madness, the way only India can do it. It started fairly calmly, with Premier Dalton McGuinty, Consul General of India Preeti Saran, reps from Air India and CIBC, among others, making speeches. But then Bollywood star after Bollywood star joined the action on stage, sending the media into a frenzy — which climaxed with the appearance of Jermaine Jackson, brother of Michael. Jermaine spoke about how his family loved Bollywood and was influenced by the style of music and dance. Hhhhmmm, I used to LOVE the Jackson Five back in the day, so perhaps it’s no surprise that I love Bollywood movies too! Jermaine will be performing with Sonu Nigam at IIFA Rocks.

Photograph of Jermaine Jackson at IIFA press conference in Toronto
Jermaine Jackson at IIFA press conference

I could see the Canadian media go into a state of shell shock, as they aren’t used to Indian-style chaos. (I’ve seen the same look on foreigners’ faces in India!) And I don’t think Canada has completely grasped how big these stars are: they have followings that measure in the hundreds of millions, and the dedication and adoration is outside our frame of reference. Amitabh Bachchan has three temples dedicated to him, for goodness’ sake.

And it hasn’t even really begun yet ….

Some of the media at the IIFA press conference
Some of the media at the IIFA press conference

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Series Navigation<< Fairmont Royal “Raja” York is ground zero for the IIFA AwardsBollywood in Toronto: Fave moment #1 – Shahrukh Khan >>
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Bollywood actor Madhavan at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel during the IIFA Awards. Photo courtesy Andrew Adams Photography

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About Mariellen Ward

Professional travel writer Mariellen Ward is the founder of award-winning Breathedreamgo. Mariellen has a BA in Journalism and has been travel writing and blogging since 2005. She has won many awards, including a National Tourism Award from Incredible India Tourism, and writes for some of the world’s leading publications including BBC Travel and NatGeo Traveller India.

Breathedreamgo is an award-winning travel site published by Canadian travel writer and India travel expert Mariellen Ward. Breathedreamgo was launched in 2009 and focuses on transformative travel, travel in India, travel in Canada, responsible travel, and solo female travel.

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Filed under: News/Events, CanadaTagged under: Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Bipasha Basu, Bollywood, IIFA, Mallika Sherawat, Toronto
About Mariellen Ward

Professional travel writer Mariellen Ward is the founder of award-winning Breathedreamgo. Mariellen has a BA in Journalism and has been travel writing and blogging since 2005. She has won many awards, including a National Tourism Award from Incredible India Tourism, and writes for some of the world’s leading publications including BBC Travel and NatGeo Traveller India.

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