The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) held the Idea IIFA awards show last weekend with over 600 million viewers tuning in worldwide - making it one of the most watched entertainment award shows in history.

The IIFA’s are certainty one of the most eagerly anticipated award shows on the Bollywood calendar, attended by all the top stars from the Indian movie industry. Bangkok, Thailand had the pleasure of hosting the awards show this year, and as ever, it was filled with all the glamour and glitz expected from a show of this magnitude.

The premiere of Ram Gopal Verma’s Sarkar Raj kick started the weekend festivities, receiving an overwhelming response from the audience. Rather than being a red carpet event, it was adorned by a green carpet to show concern towards the issue of global warming. Hundreds of fans flocked to catch a glimpse of the often criticized “first” family of Bollywood, the Bachchan’s. Needless to say, security had a tough time managing the crowd when they arrived for the premiere. Kareena Kapoor, sister of Abhishek’s ex fiancé Karisma Kapoor, though present in Bangkok for the IIFA’s, chose to skip the premiere. Quelle surprise? Although one did hear that the Kapoor and Bachchan clan have kissed and made up, one can never be too sure - especially when everyone denies that there was a problem in the first place.

As a prequel to the award ceremony, there was a scintillating fashion show with some of India’s best designers including Manish Malholtra, Vikram Phadnis and Rohit Bal. However, the award show itself saw quite a few hits and misses on the fashion front. Rumour has it that Saif and Kareena were arguing the day of the show over Kareena’s revealing performance outfit.

Although Shah Rukh Khan was absent for the awards, he ruled the night with Chak De India, winning the Best Director, Best Actor and Best Movie categories. Golden girl Kareena Kapoor, nabbed the Best Actress award, adding to the plethora of awards received by the movie Jab We Met. Abhishek Bachchan missed out on the Best Actor category but did manage to scoop up a Style Icon of the Year award.

The IIFA Awards has indisputably proved its credibility after 9 years, and unlike other award shows such as the Stardust awards and Filmfare awards; it has received the full backing of the Indian film fraternity. It is quite apparent that the IIFA’s are getting bigger and better each year and should be commended for its international and professional standards.

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