The IIFA Awards took over the capital city of Madrid with an exceptional show this year. The stars look forward to this annual retreat, which takes them away from their routines and thoroughly enjoy the attention and adulation they receive from the people, many of whom come from different nationalities. In fact, the media present to cover the event belonged to countries as diverse as Switzerland, Egypt and Africa,
Some highlights from the IIFA weekend in Spain.
The IIFA Awards took over the capital city of Madrid with an exceptional show this year. The stars look forward to this annual retreat, which takes them away from their routines and thoroughly enjoy the attention and adulation they receive from the people, many of whom come from different nationalities. In fact, the media present to cover the event belonged to countries as diverse as Switzerland, Egypt and Africa, which just goes to show how the IIFAs have risen to become a global juggernaut.
As we had flown down to Madrid especially for this event, we were given a special media spot which allowed us a chance to interact with all the stars that sashayed down the green carpet. When Deepika Padukone entered the hall, she caught every shutterbug’s attention and in turn graciously posed for all of them.
Fawad Khan’s red carpet moment
The red carpet, actually green in colour, was buzzing with activity on the main awards night as well as on the occasion of IIFA Rocks, which is a musical evening of sorts. As Karan Johar was sharing his excitement on hosting what was possibly his hundredth award show, the prolific producer/director/host was joined by Bajirao Mastani warrior Ranveer Singh on the green carpet and both continued to interact with the media on hand.
As Fawad Khan made his entrance, Karan Johar noticed him from afar and quickly dragged him back for a combined media byte. The three of them interacted in a manner that was hilarious and friendly. It is now a part of the Internet jackpot club. You can see Singh teasing Khan about his ever-expanding female fan-base, mimicry and all. Khan wasn’t available to the media during IIFA Rocks since he was hosting the show with Karan Johar but made up for it the next night by making a debonair entrance in a sharp, black suit.
He spoke to Instep about feeling elevated after being acknowledged for his bold role in Kapoor & Sons. He also mentioned how he admires his co-star Ranbir Kapoor in their upcoming film, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, for his body of work and his sharp intelligence.
Fashion forward
The IIFA weekend is not just about cinema, it is also a place where eccentric fashion forward ideas are experimented upon by the stars. In that sense, this year’s red carpet lived up to the hype. From Deepika’s Sabyasachi to Priyanka’s Schiaprelli to Shilpa Shetty’s Shantanu & Nikhil, every star looked like a style icon that night. It was fashion at its best! Bipasha Basu chose a voluminous Abujani Sandeep Khosla and managed the difficult outfit like a pro. Lara Dutta and Sonakshi Sinha looked absolutely ravishing in their gowns. Neha Dhupia made a shocking revelation as she dared to wear a high street brand called Marks & Spencers at the green carpet but she pulled it off like a diva. Men on the other side played it safe with tuxedos and bowties. The ones who clearly stood out were Ranveer Singh and our very own Fawad Khan.
Anil Kapoor and Deepika Padoukone’s message to Pakistani fans
When Anil Kapoor learnt that the Pakistani media including Instep was present, he mentioned how excited he was at this ongoing cross border exchange of talent between Pakistan and India. Having shared admiration for actor Hina Dilpazeer in earlier interviews, Kapoor shared his desire to work in a Pakistani project. “I want to work in Pakistani drama serials. It’s extremely competitive and I am a huge fan of their work,” said Kapoor.
When Instep asked Deepika Padukone about her interest in Pakistani projects, she noted, “I have never been to Pakistan but I would love to visit soon. The love I get from my Pakistani fans makes me feel as if I have already been there. If something comes up, which excites me, I will definitely work in Pakistan and if not for creative purposes, I would still like to visit Pakistan and meet my fans there.”
Performances
No Bollywood award ceremony is truly complete without performances and in that department the IIFAs had plenty to offer. Bollywood’s A-list stars like Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, and Sonakshi Sinha were some of the prolific performers of the night.
Salman Khan closed the ceremony with his power packed performance and Deepika performed to a medley of her songs from Bajirao Mastani. Our sources tell us that Priyanka and Deepika were asked to perform together on ‘Pinga’ at the IIFA stage. While Priyanka was game, Deepika was reluctant and refused to shake a leg alongside Chopra for fear of being outperformed since PC has better dancing skills. Priyanka told a leading daily: ‘‘Initially, I guess that was the plan. But then I think they changed it. Don’t ask me why, I have no clue. You will have to check with the IIFA organizers as I am not sure what happened.”
Moving on, the IIFA Rocks evening also saw Fawad Khan embrace his singing talent; he sang the title track of Karan Johar’s Kal Ho Na Ho.
-Sadiq Saleem is a Dubai based entertainment
journalist. He is also a correspondent for Instep and can be contacted on his page fb/sidsaidso.
