Who is the most popular Indian film star now in UK? No, it is not superstar Amitabh as one would expect but the sultry siren Shilpa Shetty. All eyes were on her as the 8th edition of the International Indian Film Academy awards kicked off at the historic Town Hall here on Thursday morning.
Though Shilpa walked in a little late after the formal inaugural function began, she cornered the limelight. A battery of photographers from around the world turned their flash bulbs on her. Dignitaries on the dais including Big B himself were left watching helplessly. Shilpa was even invited on the stage to speak on the occasion.
South boycott?
A striking feature at this year’s IIFA has been the near  neglect of south-Indian cinema —  there are no south Indian movies on the programme schedule. Though the festival seeks to “celebrate Indian cinema”, there are no southern stars or technicians  representing the region.
Perhaps this is an offshoot of the stinging criticism voiced by the Malayalam super star Mammooty on stage at last year’s IIFA in Dubai which stunned the organisers.
He successfully drove home the point that south-Indian films were not inferior to Hindi cinemas. Yet they were being given step-motherly treatment.
This year, Emraan Hashmi starrer The Train is slotted for a world premiere.
Another highlight is a musical exchange between India and the West as Reliance Industries “Big Music” announces the music launch of Salman Khan starrer Marigold.
A retrospective of Salman Khan films’ is also up for public viewing.
On Friday, the IIFA Foundation celebration cricket match will be held at Headingley Carnegie Stadium between the Indian film stars and UK celebrity cricket team. Former-cricketer Kapil Dev is expected to take part in the event.
The glittering IIFA film awards at the Sheffield open air stadium on June 9 is expected to last for over four hours.
The awards’ ceremony will be hosted by actors Lara Dutta and Boman Irani.
Union Minister for Civil Aviation, who was the chief guest at the IIFA-FICCI global forum on Thursday morning, is   being conferred with a doctorate by the Lees Metropolitan University. IIFA  focuses on global warming and its impact on the universe this year.
The event began with a moving appeal by Prince Charles who said “every one should contribute-you too can do your bit by switching off the lights when you don’t need them”.
To reinforce this message, instead of the usual red carpet, it will be a green carpet everywhere this year, and Shilpa did her bit by wearing a green attire.