Biggest achievement of IIFA Awards is taking Indian films to the world, says co-founder

Traditionally held in a different city each year, glamourous event is being held in Abu Dhabi for third year in a row

South Indian superstar Rana Daggubati, centre, will host IIFA Utsavam along with other celebrities. Photo: IIFA

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards weekend got underway in Abu Dhabi with a star-studded press conference featuring Shahid Kapoor, Rana Daggubati, Kriti Sanon, Vicky Kaushal, Ananya Panday and many other celebrities.

Speaking at the Etihad Arena Ballroom on Friday, co-founder and director Sabbas Joseph said the annual event's biggest achievement has been “to connect the industry to businesses across the globe”.

IIFA’s main aim over in 24 years of existence, he said, has been to bring the attention of India’s diverse film industry to various parts of the world.

When first held in 2000, the IIFA Awards aimed to award pioneers of Indian Hindi cinema outside the country. Since then the event has been hosted all over the world, including Dubai in 2006. This is Abu Dhabi’s third consecutive year as host city.

The IIFA Festival, as this year's event is called, is being held over three nights. It starts on Friday with IIFA Utsavam, which celebrates and rewards the best of South Indian cinema. The IIFA Awards, which focuses on Bollywood or Hindi films, follows on Saturday and the music-focused IIFA Rocks takes place on Sunday. Etihad Arena on Yas Island is the host venue for all three nights.

Bollywood star Kaushal briefly showed off a sensational quickstep to his hit song Tauba Tauba from Bad Newz before complimenting the warmth of Abu Dhabi's hospitality and said that it “multiplies every year”. Kaushal is hosting the IIFA Awards on Saturday night along with mega star Shah Rukh Khan and producer Karan Johar.

Actor Siddhant Chaturvedi, who is hosting IIFA Rocks on Sunday, also made an appearance at the press conference. “I’m so happy that we’re all coming together to represent pan-Indian cinema on the same stage,” he said.

Replying to a question about hosting the final night, he said: “It’s … tricky. It’s a lot, but I’ve prepped to do my best on the stage to entertain both the audience and the stars.”

Chaturvedi and his co-host Abhishek Bannerjee are in the UAE for the first time. Chaturvedi says he is focused primarily on the show, but Bannerjee exclaimed: “I’m very excited to explore the culture, meet new people, and see new places.”

Performers at IIFA Rocks will include the Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio – consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa – rapper Hirdesh Singh, known famously by his pseudonym Honey Singh, and singer Shilpa Rao.

Musing on the importance of art in our lives, and the role it plays in bringing people together, Rao said: “We end up representing people through music and film. Giving more power to people who create.”