Toronto: With more than half a million people of Indian origin in its population, Canada's largest city will see the biggest gathering of Bollywood stars on North American soil to honour its best films and stars for the 12th Indian International Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards to be held from June 23-25.
Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, the Deol clan of Dharmendra, Sunny, Bobby, Esha and Hema Malini, Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra, Bipasha Basu, Mallika Sherawat, Dia Mirza, Anil Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty, Neetu and Rishi Kapoor, Arbaaz and Malaika Arora Khan and many more stars are descending here for a grand showcasing of the world's largest film industry.
But the Bachchans - superstar Amitabh or any of his family members Abhishek, Aishwarya and Jaya - are not coming to the party.
Shah Rukh Khan has been nominated for his hit lead role in his My Name is Khan.
The three-day show, which opens with Salman Khan's debut production Chillar Party, a light-hearted comedy about the lives of seven children hailing from different sections of society, will culminate in the "Bollywood Oscars" night of the IIFA Awards on June 25th.
There is so much rush to see Bollywood stars that the tickets for the awards night were sold out in minutes. Shiamak Davar, who is also a Canadian citizen and runs a dance school here, will be the official choreographer of the IIFA Awards.
According to organizers, more than 22,000 people are expected to attend the IIFA Awards which will be beamed internationally to over 700 million people.
Twenty Bollywood films are being screened in Toronto and its sister cities of Brampton, Mississauga and Markham as part of the IIFA Awards. These include Chak De India, Hera Pheri, Dabangg and Dil To Pagal Hai.
Interestingly, the Indian-dominated city of Brampton on the outskirts of Toronto will name a street Raj Kapoor Crescent after the legendary Raj Kapoor during the IIFA Awards.
On the business side, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) will participate in the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum during the three-day show.
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