It was a night of Bollywood glamour and energy in Malaysia on Sunday at the International Indian Film Academy’s annual awards ceremony in Kuala Lumpur.
India’s biggest stars descended on the Malaysian capital for the event – dubbed Bollywood’s Oscars – dazzling the audience with the colourful musical dance numbers that India’s cinema is famous for.
Almost 4,000 fans gathered at the Putra Indoor Stadium, just south of Kuala Lumpur, to watch performances by their screen idols: Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Tiger Shroff, who won the Best Debutant Male award.
Anushka Sharma stole the show with her sizzling dance performance during a ceremony that saw films Haider, Queen and PK scoring big wins.
Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut snapped up the male and female awards for top performance in a leading role for the movies Haider and Queen respectively, while Direction award went to Rajkumar Hirani for PK and Vikas Bahl's Queen was named Best Picture.
Kay Kay Menon won Performance in a Negative Role for Haider. His co-star Tabu took the trophy for Performance in a Supporting Role (Female). Best Regional Film went to Riteish Deshmukh's Marathi film Lai Bhaari, co-produced by his actress wife Genelia D'Souza.
Main Tera Hero star Varun Dhawan won an award for Performance in a Comic Role. The film's director, his father David Dhawan, received the trophy on his behalf.
The Music Direction trophy went to popular trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy for 2 States. Ankit Tiwari won the award for Playback Singer (Male) for Galliyan from the film Ek Villain. Baby Doll singer Kanika Kapoor won Playback Singer (Female) for the number from Ragini MMS 2.
National Award-winning director Omung Kumar got Best Debut Direction for Mary Kom. He shared it with popular producer Sajid Nadiadwala, who made his directorial debut with Kick.
Deepika Padukone, meanwhile, was honoured with the Woman of the Year award, after a busy spell with films Piku, Happy New Year and Finding Fanny.
The IIFA recognises the artistic and technical excellence of professionals in Bollywood’s Hindi cinema and always holds its awards ceremony outside India to demonstrate Bollywood’s international appeal.
“The way Indian movies are shot – filled with glamour, beautiful dance and music – is making people from Europe, China and Japan attracted to it,” said Mumbai-based director Shyam Shroff.
“Day by day all our traditional markets are growing by leaps and bounds. The next target of Indian movies should be the mainstream Americans,” he added.
The starry fiesta began with the Bollywood celebrities sparkling on the green carpet as fans screamed and clapped with excitement.
Actress Padukone was in a maroon and gold embellished sari, while Sharma was a red siren in a strapless gown.
Many of the actresses opted for black, including Sinha, who wore a backless dress, and Parineeti Chopra, whose strapless frock boasted an impressive train.
The awards were anchored by Bollywood’s funny duo Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor. The pair drew big laughs with their witty repartees, especially when they forced Bollywood hunk Sonu Sood to remove his shirt and reveal his toned physique.
The hosts captivated Bollywood fans by aiming their jokes at actors Anil Kapoor and Jacqueline Fernandez and when they took a stab at censorship.
In February, Indian police registered a case against the pair for reworking a song and introducing lewd lyrics during a stage show by the comedy troupe All India Bakchod. The incident sparked a furore over freedom of expression.
This year’s event took place over three days and included film and music workshops, fashion shows, meet-and-greets with fans and technical awards.
With a viewership of about 800 million, the IIFA Awards is India’s biggest media event and also one of the world’s most-watched annual entertainment shows.
Lifetime achievement award
Things got emotional when the award for Outstanding Contribution to Indian Cinema was announced. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai received the gong from actors Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff, whom he worked with on the 1989 blockbuster Ram Lakhan, one of several the three collaborated on. In a touching tribute, Shraddha Kapoor performed songs from Ghai's best-known films, including Taal and Kisna.
"I grew up dancing on the song Taal Se Taal Mila [from the film Taal] in front of the mirror," said the 26-year-old actress. "Today I got the opportunity to perform the song on this platform."
DDLJ provides laughs
Hosts Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor made special mention – and fun – of Shah Rukh and Kajol's superhit Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, which has enjoyed a marathon 1,000-week screening at Mumbai's Maratha Mandir cinema since it was released in 1995.
With the help of directors Prabhu Deva, Abbas-Mastan and Anurag Kashyap, Singh and Kapoor put on hilarious spoofs of the film's final scene. Singh played Simran (Kajol), Kapoor played Bauji (Amrish Puri) and an SRK lookalike played the role of Raj. Prabhu Deva's version, titled Any Rajkumar Can Be Jackson, had the film ending with an over-the-top fight sequence; the duo Abbas-Mastan called their version Race Dilwalon Ki and referenced their famous – and racy – Race thrillers; and Kashyap's Gangs of Dilwale was set in a rural town, a nod to his dark Gangs of Wasseypur films.
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