Karan Johar and Farah Khan to host IIFA Rocks in Abu Dhabi, featuring Badshah and more

Bollywood director and producer Karan Johar will join returning host, filmmaker Farah Khan, for IIFA Rocks, the musical and fashion night preceding the main awards gala at the International Indian Film Academy Awards in Abu Dhabi.

To be held at the Etihad Arena on February 10, Johar and Khan will entertain Bollywood fans along with top performers including rapper Badshah, singer and music director Amit Trivedi, singer Sunidhi Chauhan and EDM producer Nucleya.

“I’ve shared a special bond with IIFA for over two decades. It will be a pleasure to rock the stage with Farah," Johar said.

The director, who also hosts the hugely popular celebrity talk show Koffee with Karan, was named as host of IIFA Rocks earlier this year, but had to cancel owing to scheduling conflicts after the event was postponed to June 3 and 4 from its original May date following the death of Sheikh Khalifa.

The IIFA Awards, which recognise the best Hindi films and actors from the previous year, are usually held in a different city every year, but it is returning to Abu Dhabi for the second year in a row next year. Celebrations will begin with IIFA Rocks, followed by the main awards gala the following night on February 11.

Scroll through the gallery below for pictures from IIFA Rocks 2022 in Abu Dhabi

“In 2017, Alia Bhatt had New York enthralled when she sang my song Kar Gayi Chull from her film Kapoor and Sons at the IIFA Awards. This year, I will be there in person to regale you with some of my popular hits. So, fasten your seat belts and prepare for a rocking landing,” Badshah said.

Chauhan, who remains the youngest nominee for Best Female Playback Singer for Mehboob Mere from the film Fiza (2000), has been nominated 17 times and won the award twice for the Dhoom (2004) title track Dhoom Machale and Omkara’s (2006) Beedi.

“This year, IIFA gives me a platform to entertain my extended family of fans from across the world. It’s going to be an amazing spectacle; we will rock Abu Dhabi!” she said.

Bollywood stars Ranveer Singh, Salman Khan, Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon are set to perform on the gala night while actors Farhan Akhtar and Abhishek Bachchan will play host along with actor Maniesh Paul.

Bollywood stars Farhan Akhtar and Abhishek Bachchan will host the IIFA Awards 2023 in Abu Dhabi's Etihad Arena along with actor and presenter Maniesh Paul. Photo: Wizcraft

"I’m excited to be headlining IIFA again with a performance that hopefully will be memorable to all those attending it," Singh said.

"I’m thrilled for this one because I will be performing at Yas Island, my home away from home. As the brand ambassador for such a spectacular destination, I cannot wait to showcase the island to my friends from the industry, as well as to those attending this event as an audience. I’m anticipating the most incredible IIFA experience to date at Yas because I know it will be epic in every way possible."

First held in London in 2000, the IIFA Awards were conceptualised by Mumbai event company Wizcraft International Entertainment and have been instrumental in boosting Bollywood's popularity globally.

Dubai hosted the event, in 2006, and so has Bangkok, New York, Colombo, Amsterdam, Madrid, Florida, Kuala Lumpur and Macau.

This year's event marked the first time it was held in Abu Dhabi, attended by more than 20,000 fans across two days, IIFA organisers said.

Tickets, starting at Dh110, are on sale now at etihadarena.ae

Scroll through the gallery for pictures from the IIFA Awards 2022 gala in Abu Dhabi

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Karan Johar and Farah Khan to host IIFA Rocks in Abu Dhabi, featuring Badshah and more

Sunidhi Chauhan, Amit Trivedi and Nucleya are among performers announced so far for the entertainment night at Etihad Arena