12th London Asian Film Festivals.

Bollywood fans has a great opportunity to catch there stars in UK to interact with them, who they have seen on screen. From 5-14 March 2010 all the celebrities were available at the 12th London Asian Film Festival.

Including Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Jaya Bachchan, Soha Ali Khan and her mother Sharmila Tagore. The festival will give audiences the chance to see some of Bollywood's biggest hits of the last few years in London's West End, including Tarun Mansukhani's DOSTANA, Mani Ratnam's GURU and Shimit Amin's CHAK DE! INDIA.

Abhi and Aish waiting for IIFA Awards

Director Mani Ratnam is awaited for there film Raavan at this year’s International Indian Film Awards (IIFA).

The movie is about to complete and is going to release on 18th June, 2010. It may be remembered that Mani Ratnam’s Yuva , Hindi version of Tamil movie ‘Aayutha Ezhuthu’ was premiered at the IIFA Award in Singapore.


Indian star like Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Vikram are having huge expectation.

IIFA Glamorous Actor Award

The IIFA Glamorous actor of the Year Award was chosen by the viewers, and the winners for this award were Preity Zinta in 2006, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan in 2007.




The glamorous girl Preity Zinta was selected as the first brand ambassador for GoAir, a new airline service owned by Jeh Wadia from Wadia Group and also walked the ramp for Manish Malhotra's display Fashion Week 2006, along with actress Kajol.

Preity Zinta will be seen in Main Aur Mrs Khanna which is expected to release on October 16, 2009. The actress is also shooting for Har Pall which is directed by Jahnu Barua.

In 2005, Harpers and Queen's list of 10 Most beautiful women in the world ranked Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at the 9th spot. The upcoming movies of the actress are Raavan, Action Replay and Guzaarish.

The style icon Hrithik Roshan's upcoming movie titled Kites with Barbara Mori is running under post-production and another film featuring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Guzaarish will be completed next year.

Jodha Akbar Sweeps all 2009 Film Awards

Jodha Akbar, a love story between one of the greatest Mughal Emperors that ruled Hindustan (India), Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar, and the fiery young Rajput Princess, Jodhaa Bai,is an epic drama that weaves together romance and communal harmony.




Set in the sixteenth century, the movie starts off with a narration by the legendary Indian film actor Amitabh Bachchan, telling the story of the young prince.

Director Ashutosh Gowariker has presented this historical love epic with all the grandeur of the Mughal era. There are majestic palaces, and imposing battle scenes, colorful costumes and imposing jewelry. The film gives audiences three and a half hours of regal extravaganza complete with romance and action, suspense and drama, music and dance.

Hence, Jodha Akbar stole all the awards in the year 2009.

Hrithik Roshan, star of Indian superhero movie Krishh and Dhoom, shows the strong character of Akbar with ease. His tone and commanding presence make him a natural, and the scenes where he fights topless really show his raw strength. He won the IIFA Best Actor Award for his performance.

As Jodhaa, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan clearly shows us why she was once chosen as the most beautiful woman in the world.

The most touching scenes of the movie are the developing relationship between Jodhaa and Akbar. Many a time, these scenes don't have much dialogue, but the eyes do so much of the talking. The on-screen chemistry between Aishwarya and Hrithik is very strong, and they seem like the perfect couple.

The music and songs are a very critical element of any Indian movie, and this is no exception. Double Oscar winner A. R. Rahman won IIFA for Best Background Score, while Javed Akhtar got Best Lyricist and Javed Ali received Best Male Playback Singer award for the song 'Jashn-e-Bahaara'.

The movie swept 10 awards at the recent 10th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards in Macau, taking home trophies for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.

Jodha Akbar also won awards for Best Costume Design (Neeta Lulla), Best Editing (Ballu Saluja), Best Art Direction (Nitin Chandrakant Desai) and Best Make Up (Madhav Kadam).

IIFA Winners 2009

The results are out at the prestigious International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards held at Macau, China, as they always choose a destination away from a India. And we have the round up of the glitz, glamour and those who clinched the trophy.

The biggest winner was Ashutosh Gowariker's historical romance Jodhaa Akbar. It swept the IIFA awards with a perfect 10 trophies - including Best Film, Best Actor (for Hrithik Roshan) and Best Director (for Gowariker).

Double Oscar-winning A R Rahman was honoured with the composer of the decade award. He also won Best Music Director for Jodhaa Akbar. Oscar winner Resul Pokkutty bagged Best Sound Recording for Ghajini.

As for the special awards commemorating 10 years of IIFA, Shah Rukh Khan was accorded the Best Male Actor of the Decade, while Aishwarya
Rai was crowned with Best Female.

Now, let's move on to the rest.

Jodha Akbar sweeps away IIFA 2009

Complete Slumdog style, Ashutosh Gowariker's historical romance "Jodhaa Akbar" swept the International Indian Film Acadmey (IIFA) awards 2009 here Saturday with a perfect 10 bag of trophies, being named the best film and fetching its male lead Hrithik Roshan the best actor award and Ashutosh Gowariker the best director award.
Priyanka Chopra was named the best actress for portrayal of a an ambitious model in " Fashion ".

Kangana Ranaut walked with the the award for the best female in a supporting role for her performance as a down-in-the-dumps model in " Fashion ", while Arjun Rampal won the award for best male actor in a supporting role trophy for playing an unsuccessful and brooding musician in " Rock On! "
Abhishek Bachchan got the best comic actor for his performance in " Dostana " and immediately dedicated it to wife Aishwarya Rai and Amar Singh ji...strange!

The award for best actor in a negative role went to Akshaye Khanna for " Race ". Anil Kapoor received the award as Akshay had to leave for some personal work. Neeraj Pandey was given IIFA best story award for his critically acclaimed " A Wednesday ".

" Lagaan " was declared the best movie of the decade, veteran Rajesh Khanna was given the lifetime achievement award, Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai were respectively declared the male and female actors of the decade, Rakesh Roshan was named director of the decade and double Oscar-winning A.R. Rahman was honoured with the composer of the decade
award.

This set of honours were meant to commemorate 10 years of IIFA awards.

Rahman was also named the best music director for his soulful compositions in " Jodhaa Akbar ". The music maestro couldn't attend the event and Gowariker received the award on his behalf.

The best male playback singer award went to Javed Ali for crooning " Jashn-e-bahaara " in " Jodhaa Akbar ", while Shreya Ghoshal was named the best female playback singer for " Teri ore " in hit romantic comedy " Singh is Kinng ".

Well-known Bollywood writer Javed Akhtar won the best lyricist award for penning the song " Jashn-e-bahaara " for " Jodhaa Akbar ".

Aishwarya was also honoured with a special award for an outstanding achievement in international cinema.

Farhan Akhtar got the best male debutant of the year award for " Rock On !", while Asin Thottumkal got best female debut award for action thriller " Ghajini ".

" Jodhaa Akbar " bagged the maximum technical awards at IIFA.


The best cinematography award went to Jason West for "Rock On!" and the best choreography award went to Farah Khan for the song " Desi girl " in " Dostana ".While ace designer Neeta Lulla walked away with the best costume design award for " Jodhaa Akbar ", best editing trophy went to Ballu Saluja and best art direction to Nitin Chandrakant Desai for the Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai starrer historical romance. Best Make Up award went to Madhav Kadam for the same film.


Among the winners in the technical category, Farah and Jason were not present at the event. Resul Pokkutty , who made history by winning an Oscar for his work in "Slumdog Millionaire", bagged sound recording trophy for Aamir Khan starrer " Ghajini ".

The Winners for the IDEA IIFA Awards 2009

The tenth year of IIFA surpassed all expectations with a spectacular show that saw epic movie Jodhaa Akbar bag most of the top Awards. The film won the coveted Best Picture Award, while Ashutosh Gowarikar won the award for Best Director and Hrithik Roshan for Best Actor for Jodhaa Akbar.

Priyanka Chopra won the Award for Best Actress for her much acclaimed role in Fashion, while her co-star Kangana Ranawat won the Award for her performance as supporting female actor. Arjun Rampal came out victorious for Best Male performance in a supporting role for Rock On. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented by IIFA Brand Ambassador, Amitabh Bachchan to Rajesh Khanna, who received a standing ovation from the packed arena.

Abhishek Bachchan won the Award for best performance in a comic role for his hilarious character in Dostana, while Akshaye Khanna won for Best performance in a negative role for Race. Neeraj Pandey’s powerful film, A Wednesday won the Award for Best Story.

The Male Star of the Decade went to Shah Rukh Khan, while Aishwarya Rai Bachchan won in the female category. Movie of the decade went to Lagaan, with Rakesh Roshan winning Director of the decade and the talented AR Rahman won the award for Music of the decade. The star debut of the year was awarded to Asin and Farhan Akhtar.

Other than this AR Rahman won the Best Background Score Award for the flick Jodhaa Akbar. Mano Rishil won the Best Dialogue award for Oye Lucky, Ballu Saluja got the award for Best Editing for the film Jodhaa Akbar. Best Art Direction award was given to Nitin Chandrakant Desai again for Jodhaa Akbar. Best Costume Award was given to Neeta Lulla for Jodhaa Akbar, Madhav Kadam got the award for Best Make-Up for the film Jodhaa Akbar. Best Picture award was given to Jodhaa Akbar. Neerai Pandey won the Best Screenplay award for A Wednesday Short and Sweet. Best Playback Singer (female) award was given to Shreya Ghoshal for Teri Ore for the movie Singh Is King and Best Playback Singer (Male) award was given to Javed Ali was the song Jashan-e-Baharaa from the film Jodhaa Akbar.

The list is quiet long guys. IIFA Awards was the biggest celebration of Indian Cinema !!

The Grand IIFA 2009 in Macau

In an attempt to take Bollywood in the booming Chinese market and the rest of eastern Asia, an annual road show to China's coastal casino enclave of Macau is being taken up. Bollywood's first family,the Bachchan clan, led by millenium star Amitabh Bachchan, his son Abhishek, and daughter-in-law, former Miss World Aishwarya Rai, will walk the red carpet as the International Indian Film Academy hosts its 10th annual weekend conference from Thursday to Saturday.

The world's most prolific film industry is hoping to translate its large output into bigger revenue by widening its viewership beyond native Indians.

Overseas income is already contributing more to the $2.3 billion Indian movie industry, with foreign box office revenues jumping from 5.3 percent of total revenue in 2005 to 9.8 percent in 2008, according to a report commissioned by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. With their large ethnic Indian populations, the U.S. and Britain are now Bollywood's two biggest foreign markets.

"The success and popularity of 'Slumdog Millionaire,' with its Indian locales, artists and music, underscores the growing influence of Indian cinema and augurs well for Bollywood movie markets targeting global audiences," the FICCI report said.

Amitabh Bachchan told a recent media briefing promoting the International Indian Film Academy weekend that the Indian film industry needs to do a better job of selling itself. Indian films typically devote 10 percent to 15 percent of their budget to marketing, compared to 30 percent in Hollywood, according to the FICCI report.

"Hollywood has greater marketing skills. We don't know how to market our product because we don't have the funds," the 66-year-old actor said, adding that, "we are trying."

The film academy has held previous overseas events in London, Dubai, Johannesburg, Amsterdam and Bangkok.

In addition to showcasing several new Indian films, this year's event in Macau will include a conference of business executives from India and China on Friday that will focus on collaboration between the two countries, with Indian Ambassador to China Nirupama Rao making the
pitch for her home country.

Famed Bollywood composer A.R. Rahman, an Oscar winner for his "Slumdog Millionaire" score, will hold a workshop on Friday. Heartthrob Hrithik Roshan and wife Suzanne will model for Indian designers at a fashion show Thursday night.

The three-day program culminates Saturday night, 13 June, with the annual IIFA Awards, where Abhishek Bachchan, his wife Aishwarya Rai, Roshan and fellow stars Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif will compete for top acting honors.

IIFA is All Set For The Next Weekend

IIFA all set to celebrate its 10th year in 2009 where and when the biggest and the best from Bollywood will cross the borders to perform, give away and receive awards.
Venue for IIFA Awards 2009

Macau, China is the venue for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards to be held in the June 11-13 weekend. Despite coming late in the year after Filmfare and Stardust awards,
IIFA is looking forward to mainly because it is just the votes that matter here.

IIFA Founders

Founded by Wizcraft International Entertainment, IIFA neatly sidesteps potential accusations of foul play and partiality thanks to a transparent tie-up with the audit firm Price Waterhouse Coopers.
IIFA Technical Awards Are Done With!

IIFA's technical awards are over and done with and we will have to wait to see that if Hrithik Roshan will score another award for his performance in Jodhaa Akbar as Shah Rukh Khan has always been the king of the popularity stakes. While Abhishek Bachchan has been nominated in three categories, two for the same role in Dostana, his better half, Aishwarya Rai, probably has her fingers crossed for a win over Priyanka Chopra this time. But one guess is only as good as the other.

The process of selecting the winners is not as transparent in a ceremony like, say the Filmfare Awards, as it is in the case of IIFA. So IIFA has certainly taken over other conventional awards now.

IIFA Showmanship

Where showmanship is concerned, IIFA certainly knows how to deliver the best. An international face like Rai's, musical genius like that of A.R. Rahman's and the dogged refusal to give up on songs-for-every-occasion have taken Bollywood to almost every part of
the globe; Wizcraft has systematically created an organised platform for Hindi movies to be lauded globally.

Guest Abode at IIFA

To accomodate its approx. 500 luminaries from tinsel-town, IIFA is befittingly headed to the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel. This will even boost the tourism in the place. Designed like the city of Venice, the hotel has only suites to offer and a stream of gondolas to saunter
past as you shop. You can even float along in a gondola as your guide sings for you, but at a price. The Cotai Arena, which is the venue for the event, can house up to 6,000 guests.


IIFA Brand Ambassador

For brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the year should hold a special place in his heart as it is his 40th year in the industry as well. But he still has to defend IIFA's position when it comes to accusations that it showcases only Hindi films and does not go pan-Indian.

It is certainly Bollywood that is putting the country's glamorous face forward with its penchant for the glitter and gloss.

Special Awards Nominees at IIFA 2009

Celebrating its tenth year, IIFA Academy will bestow a special set of Awards to commemorate the last decade of Indian Cinema from 1999-2009.

Therefore, celebrating the best of the best, it has put together nominations in five major categories for The Videocon IIFA Golden Decade Honours which will be announced at the IDEA IIFA Awards on the 13th of June, in Macau.

The five categories are Star of the Decade – Male, Star of the Decade
– Female, Movie of the Decade, Director of the Decade and Music of the
Decade.

The nominations are listed here.
Star of the decade – Male: Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan.
Star of the decade: Female: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherji, Preity Zinta and Priyanka Chopra.
Music of the decade: Taal – 2000 AR Rahman; Kaho Na Pyaar Hai – 2001 Rajesh Roshan; Lagaan – 2002 AR Rahman; Saathiya – 2003 AR Rahman; Kal Ho Na Ho – 2004 Shankar Ehsaan Loy; Veer Zaara – 2005 Madan Mohan; Bunty Aur Babli – 2006 Shankar Ehsan Loy; Rang De Basanti – 2007 AR Rahman and Guru – 2008 AR Rahman.
Director of the decade: Sanjay Leela Bhansali – Hum Dil De Chuke Saname 2000, Devdas 2003 & Black 2006; Rakesh Roshan – Kaho Na Pyaar Hai 2001 & Koi Mil Gaya 2004; Ashutosh Gowarikar – Lagaan 2002; Yash Chopra – Veer Zaara 2005; Raj Kumar Hirani – Lage Raho…. 2007 and Shimit Amin – Chak De India 2008.
Movie of the decade: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam – 2000; Kaho Na Pyaar Hai – 2001; Lagaan – 2002; Devdas – 2003; Kal Ho Na Ho – 2004; Veer Zaara – 2005; Black – 2006; Chak De India – 2008 and Rang De Basanti – 2007.

Filmfare Awards (Best Actress Category) - Rare Facts

Actress with Most Awards Nutan, with five wins, has more Best Actress wins than any other actress.Nutan is also the oldest winner of the Filmfare Award.She won it for films like Seema, Sujata, Bandini,Milan and Mein Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki.



However, the oldest nominee is Sharmila Tagore. The youngest nominee and winner of the award is Dimple Kapadia who was nominated when she was as young as 16 years.



Actress with Most Nominations Madhuri Dixit has 13 nominations to her credit.She has won the award four times alongwith Meena Kumari and Kajol.

Actress with Most Nominations without ever winning Tabu, Manisha Koirala with some 5 nominations.

Actress with Most Nominations in the same year Shabana Azmi has 4 to her credit.

Seven actresses have won the award twice; in chronological order, they are Waheeda Rehman, Dimple Kapadia, Rekha, Sridevi, Karisma Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, and Rani Mukerji.

Four actresses have won the award in consecutive years; in chronological order, they are Meena Kumari (1954-55), Jaya Bhaduri (1974-75), Shabana Azmi (1984-85), Rani Mukerji (2005-06).

There has been only one tie in the history of this category. This occurred in 1974 when Jaya Bhaduri and Dimple Kapadia were both given the award.



Only once have siblings been nominated for the Best Actress Award during the same year: Karisma Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor in 2002.

In 1962, Meena Kumari was the only nominee, nominated three times, for Aarti, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, and Main Chup Rahungi.