The IIFA Weekend and Awards, all set to woo its Middle East audiences starting this July only on Star Plus

IIFA raised the curtain on its second decade of celebrations in Colombo in a 3 day IIFA Weekend from June 3 to June 5 in the bustling heart of Sri Lanka. The 3 day extravaganza plays host to the Indian film industry, the corporate world, dignitaries from India and the region, world media and Indian Cinema fans from across the globe.

The IIFA Weekend, will be shown across the Middle East starting July 4th exclusively on Star Plus. The 3 day IIFA Weekend has been carefully divided into a 3 week extravaganza for its Middle East audiences. The IIFA Curtain raiser will telecast on July 4 at 10 pm followed by the IIFA Weekend with the Stars on 10th July at 4.30 pm. The ultimate in glitz, glamour & stars , the IIFA Awards will be televised on July 18 starting 6.30 pm.

With IIFA into its second decade of celebrations the Awards night was hosted by the talented trio of Boman Irani, Riteish Deshmukh and Lara Dutta and was doused in a series of honours, entertainment and laughs. The show opened with Lanka’s maiden child, Jacqueline Fernandez depicting her Sri Lankan roots with finesse in her scintillating performance, accompanied by a class act from the country’s best.

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor sizzled to hit numbers from 2009 films including Love Aaj Kal and 3 Idiots, respectively while Indian Cinema greats, Salman Khan, Govinda and Anil Kapoor quite literally took us back, showcasing their trademark dance moves from their most prominent films, to a stadium full of enthralled and hooting fans in Sri Lanka.

One of the most talked about sequences came from the unsuspecting, Boman Irani who brought his musical forte to the fore, surprising everyone as he strummed the guitar, singing “Give me some sunshine”! Catch all the excitement as Bipasha Basu rode in onto the IIFA stage on a motorbike and the boy next door, Vivek Oberoi captivated the crowd with his spellbinding performance and even taking away a special trophy.

The night ended on a high with many hearts aflutter as Indian Cinema’s favourite dancer, Hrithik Roshan took centre stage with an act that involved swords and a constant changing of looks and even had the nation’s heartthrob singing.

IIFA has grown bigger and better through the years, and its entry into the second decade of IIFA Magic, celebrated with the many events during the IIFA Weekend in Colombo, was proof to its escalating global reach. The IIFA Weekend and Awards 2010 is produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment and the Sri Lankan Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB).

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Is Salman The Man...

...to replace Big B as the IIFA ambassador? He was everywhere doing everything this year

Salman Khan is famous for not avoiding touchy issues and is known to call a spade a spade. He may have upset the Tamil Film Producers’ Council by attending the recently held IIFA, but that is not going to stop him from stating what he thinks. His comment, “Everyone belonging to the film industry should have attended IIFA. They should have come together to extend their help to the Sri Lankans” is, however, said to have angered quite a few folks in Bollywood. But, irrespective of who is angry with him, there is no denying that this IIFA was ALL about Salman. He ensured that nobody missed the Bachchans! He was literally everywhere – on the ramp, winning awards, planting trees, meeting kids, having coffee with Jacqueline, ignoring Vivek Oberoi and so on…

We Says:

Salman should definitely replace Big B as IIFA ambassador. After all, anyone can support an event during good times but to stand by it when everyone else is running scared – now that is true ambassadorial qualities if you ask us. Go Salman!

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Should IIFA dump Big B?

5 reasons why we think the megastar should no longer be the IIFA ambassador

Amitabh Bachchan is the founder-ambassador of IIFA and has always played an important role in the B’wood Oscars. He’s made his presence felt at every IIFA Weekend, from Amsterdam to Dubai. But this year Amitabh chose to give the awards at Colombo a miss. Son and bahu also did not make an appearance, with plenty of ‘professional’ excuses being offered. Here’s why we think Big B should be dumped as IIFA ambassador:

1. Big B chose to go off and shoot a tourism commercial at Gujarat’s Gir forest at exactly the same time

the awards were scheduled. By the

way, the IIFA dates were announced months earlier.

2. During the IIFA weekend, Bachchan blogged about everything on earth except why he did not go to Colombo. But he owes an explanation to his fans, especially Sri Lankan fans.

3. True, the Bachchans add a whole lot of glamour to the event, but this year the awards continued to

shine. Stunning Kareena, Lara and Bipasha ensured we did not miss the Bachchan bahu.

4. With younger stars like Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan taking an active interest in IIFA, may be it’s time to change the ambassador altogether. Choose someone who appeals to the younger B’wood fan…

5. IIFA was often seen as a Bachchan family extravaganza, with all the Bachchans walking the green carpet and at least one winning an award or performing on stage. This year, many others came into the limelight, including Vivek Oberoi!

PS: How about approaching Aamir, B’wood’s most marketing savvy star, to become brand amabassador?

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Salman-Asin starrer Ready to be shot in Sri Lanka

Even before the hangover of a spectacular Videocon IIFA Weekend 2010 subsides, it seems like the host country, Sri Lanka, has already begun reaping the benefits of playing host to IIFA's magnificent 11th edition. Recognizing the gorgeousness of the island nation, and the welcoming warmth received by the Indian Film Fraternity during another magical IIFA weekend, Anees Bazmee's new film Ready, produced by T-Series and starring Salman Khan and Asin in lead roles, will now be filmed in Sri Lanka, beginning 20th June, 2010. The movie's location for shooting was originally scheduled to be Mauritius, but after enjoying a beautiful locale like Colombo during the Videocon IIFA Weekend, there was much enthusiasm to change the location to Sri Lanka

It may be recalled that in the absence of the Bachchan parivar and Shah Rukh Khan at the recently held IIFA weekend in Colombo, it was none other than Salman Khan who was the main attraction at this extravaganza. The actor, who played a key role in the IIFA Hands for Humanity Project, as the Brand Ambassador for Charity, thoroughly appreciated the kindness and generosity of the Sri Lankans and claims to be thrilled about returning to the neighbouring island.

Sri Lanka is undoubtedly excited to welcome the whole cast of Ready. It seems like the exuberant aura of Sri Lanka, that received global recognition at the Videocon IIFA Weekend will prove to be a big plus for this host country in the days to come.

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IIFA has helped Sri Lanka's image as safe nation: Vivek Oberoi

Actor Vivek Oberoi, who extended his IIFA trip here to help in the rehabilitation in Sri Lanka's war-ravaged areas, says the presence of Bollywood stars has helped country's image as a safe destination.

The country is keen to repair an image battered by the civil war that lasted for close to three decades.

The government rolled out red carpet to Bollywood stars for the India International Academy Awards (IIFA) gala but big names like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan boycotted the event over protests by Tamil bodies in India.

However, Oberoi said the presence of Bollywood stars will help spread the goodwill.

"You have had many global celebrities come down to Sri Lanka on one platform and endorse your nation and enhance your brand value. These are things that are immeasurable in terms of value. So many fans across the globe suddenly wake up and say wow my favourite star. He went to Sri Lanka. Vivek Oberoi went there with his family. That means it is safe," Oberoi told reporters.

Oberoi visited Sri Lanka's former war-ravaged Vavuniya city and other areas in the district to begin a rehabilitation project there. He, along with his parents, travelled to Vavuniya by air and was accompanied by Abeywardena.

The Company actor held discussions with the District Secretary of Vavuniya, NGOs and the displaced and resettled civilians.

Later he visited resettled people in Nedunkerni in Vavuniya district. The actor is reportedly planning to build a school there with the help of local and Bollywood artistes.

Deputy Economic Development Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywarden said the award show had generated a lot of good will for Sri Lanka.

"As many as 610 million people in 110 countries will watch the IIFA award ceremony on July 4. Our target is to increase the number of (global) tourists by 50 per cent by 2012. We will achieve our target," Yapa said.

"In the end it is not a question of who arrived or not. What is important is the message that was sent to the world stating there is a conducive atmosphere in Sri Lanka for such an event to be held and anyone could visit the country and spend a holiday in a peaceful atmosphere," the minister added.

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Vivek's got a new project in Sri Lanka

Vivek Oberoi, who hopes to build schools for orphans and underprivileged children in Sri Lanka, visited the Vavuniya district in the north region to understand the needs of Tamil people there.

"The Oberoi family is off to Vavuniya to spend the day understanding the needs of the Tamil people and to take our first major step towards Project Hope ... identifying a place to build our school for the orphaned and underprivileged children. We need your prayers and support," Vivek posted on his Twitter page along with a family photograph.

As part of Project Hope, the actor wants to build schools to rehabilitate Tamil children in war-affected regions. He was in the country to attend the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards that concluded on June 5.

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Sri Lankan Beauty Jacqueline Fernandez wins IIFA award

Sri Lankan actress Jacqueline Fernandez, who made her Bollywood debut with Aladin, was declared Star Plus Debut of the Year (Female) at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards Saturday.

Apart from Jacqueline, Mahi Gill, who played the modern age Paro in Anurag Kashap's new interpretation of Devdas titled Dev D, too bagged the Star Plus Debut of the Year (Female) award.

3 Idiots fame Omi Vadiya, who had people rolling on the aisles with his antics in the super-hit movie, received Star Plus Debut of the Year (Male) award along with Jackie Bhagnani - the young actor who made his debut with the not-so-successful movie Kal Kissne Dekha. (NDTV)

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Salman Khan mania at IIFA Colombo

Moustache Mario: Bollywood actor Salman Khan and actress Sonakshi Sinha perform during the fashion show

With sporadic showers and a controversy, IIFA, 2010, in Colombo lacked the starpower it had hoped to kick off with.

There was the press conference everybody was waiting for and then there was yes, a fashion show! IIFA ambassador Salman Khan walked with actress Sonakshi Sinha and Sri Lankan hottie, Jacqueline Fernandes helped showcase local design by Yoland and Kanchana. Also presenting their designs were Manish Malhotra and Vikram Phadnis.

A wonderful surprise greeted fans as Sri Lankan cricketer Kumara Sangakara hit the ramp alongside Jacqueline Fernandes and also spoke about how his country needed all the help it can get.

Images copyright Associated Press

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Sri Lanka invites Indian investment

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday urged the Indian business community to explore abundant opportunities in infrastructure, agri-business and services sectors in the post-conflict era.

Addressing the Business Forum organised jointly by the Indian and Sri Lankan Chambers of Commerce here to coincide with the IIFA Awards Weekend, Mr. Rajapaksa said that the new areas and sectors have opened out since the end of the conflict in May last year and local and foreign investors would find them attractive and interesting.

He maintained that the policies of his Government were vibrant and package was enticing and exciting and the Indian business community would do well in the forward march.

He told the delegates gathered on the occasion that his Government strongly believed that to bring permanent peace there must be development. “As I have often said, there is no peace without development, and no development without peace.”

Mr. Rajapaksa claimed that the world business community was now slowly but surely, acknowledging and appreciating Sri Lanka's major successes in the economic sphere, though not much reported in the media.

On Indo-Lanka ties he said that the relationship between Sri Lanka and India had been anchored in a rich heritage and was irreversible. “We are now adding new spice to our relations with India and the world, with new and varied business opportunities”.

Mr. Rajapaksa told the Forum that while military success of the Sri Lankan forces was globally well-known, what might not be as well-known to the world were the major economic successes that Sri Lanka had also recorded, over the past four years.

In support of his contention Mr. Rajapaksa said that during the four years 2005-08, Sri Lanka achieved growth rates of over 6 per cent each year and inflation was brought down from over 22 per cent in 2008 to below 4 per cent by 2009.

Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Ashok K. Kantha in his remarks said that unburdened by the distractions of war, Sri Lanka could now expect to unleash its full potential and work actively towards encashing the peace dividend.

In the India-Sri Lanka context, these developments allow us the possibility to further strengthen and deepen our bonds of friendship and to develop a more intensive and mutually rewarding partnership. “Such a partnership should logically build on the successes that have been achieved in our upgraded economic ties over the last decade”, he said.

Mr. Kantha further said that what was required was a new vision for India-Sri Lanka economic engagement where the two governments should play the role of facilitators strengthening the existing mechanisms and create new ones that provide the necessary framework for a closer economic partnership.

The High Commissioner said that the great potential for growth through bilateral cooperation was tourism and India had emerged as the largest source of tourist arrivals into Sri Lanka. Mr. Kantha said that out of a target of 2 million tourist arrivals that Sri Lanka had set for 2016, half-a-million were to come from India.

Former Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor said the geographical ties between the two countries should be binding rather than dividing. “Apart from terrorism, we need to fight the terror of unemployment, poverty, climate change together,” he said.

Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson of the FICCI Tourism Council, said the tourism sector which included cross exchanges between Buddhist centres and the Ramayana trail in the two countries could be a huge draw. (B. Muralidhar Reddy - The Hindu)

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IIFA will boost Sri Lankan tourism: President Mahinda Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka is hosting International India Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony and President Mahinda Rajapaksa says the event will spurt tourism in the country that fought a long war against the Tamil Tigers.

‘Thank you IIFA for choosing my country as the venue for this extravagant event. It will help us in bridging the gap between the two nations in a simple manner,’ Rajapaksa told delegates at the inaugural session of the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum here Friday.

‘There is no peace without development and hence as a nation we are trying to provide support to people who have been subjected to various tortures by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and this is one such way of telling the world that we have arrived,’ he added.

Rajapaksa also said that the two nations – India and Sri Lanka – have a rich and common cultural heritage and history and that they are trying to strengthen this bond.

‘Peace and stability – this is what I want for my country. And I want to tell the world that we have had major economic success in the past four years and we have improved considerably in terms of infrastructure, roads and airports,’ he said.

Rajapaksa’s statement has come at a time when the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce stated that southern stars and filmmakers would boycott all Bollywood stars who attend the IIFA event in the Sri Lankan capital.

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FICC, IIFA Global Business Forum today: Focus on Indo-Lanka trade partnerships

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will inaugurate the FICC IIFA Global Business Forum at the Colombo Hilton today.

This is the 11th edition of the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum which defines the economic and intellectual component of the annual IIFA Weekend. The Forum will engage CEOs and business decision makers in a stimulating dialogue on diverse aspects of Sri Lanka’s bilateral relationship with India. Speaking at the opening press conference of IIFA Weekend, Wizcraft International Director Sabbas Joseph said over 60 Indian corporates will participate in today’s FICC IIFA Global Business Forum.

Over 300 local corporate leaders representing different industries will participate in the FICC IIFA global Business Forum.

The Indian business delegation will be led by the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group Chairperson and Managing Director Jyotsna Suri. The theme of this year’s forum will be India-Sri Lanka Partnership - The Way Forward.

The Forum will focus on investing and rebuilding the new Sri Lanka, North and East Building Economic Partnership between India and Sri Lanka and cricket and entertainment.

Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Ashok K. Kantha and other speakers representing local and Indian corporate sector were present.

Deputy Economic Development Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana said the Sri Lankan Government has taken every effort to make this event a success.

SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe said the IIFA Weekend is an ideal platform to showcase the country.

“Sri Lanka is not another tourist destination. It is a multi facility value for money destination,” he said.

India is an important market for SriLankan Airlines and airline covers six destinations in India with daily flights. The leisure arm of SriLankan Airlines, SriLankan Holidays is offering special packages for the IIFA weekend.(AS)

Indian corporate speakers Lalit Suri Hospitality Group Chairman and Managing Director Jyotsna Suri Steria Ltd Chairman and CEO, Dr Mukesh Aghi Micromax Informatics Business Director Vikas Jain. (DailyNewsOnline)

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Sri Lanka warmly welcomes Indian stars attending 'Bollywood Oscars' IIFA 2010

Sri Lanka extended a warm welcome to the Indian movie stars arrived in the country defying the pressure from Tamil protestors in India to participate in the 11th International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) commenced in Colombo today.

Several Bollywood stars including Vivek Oberoi, Lara Datta, Sophie Chaudhary, Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Ritesh Deshmukh, Dia Mizra and Hrithik Roshan arrived in the country despite a call from the Tamil groups to boycott the event.

Issuing a congratulatory message, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the event is of special significance to Sri Lanka and it was only possible to hold such an international event in Sri Lanka due to the peaceful atmosphere in the country.

Welcoming the Indian stars, Sri Lanka's cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara praised the actors' courage to attend the event in Sri Lanka.

Sangakkara is teaming up with other Sri Lankan cricketers and Indian movie stars Hrithik Roshan and Suniel Shetty to play a charity cricket match on the 4th of June for the benefit of the former child soldiers.

Sri Lanka police and armed forces have implemented special security measures to provide security to the attendees.

Special police and security personnel manned the main road from the airport to Colombo and the guests were escorted by a security vehicle.

Several roads in the vicinity of the places in the capital where the events are to be held are closed for public and public are advised to avoid those areas.

The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) has spent Rs 75 million to give a complete facelift to the City for the awards ceremony which is to be held at the Sugathadasa Stadium.

The city's hotels are well prepared to host the celebrity guests attending the award ceremony and the other events associated with it that includes a business forum, a fashion show, and a celebrity cricket match between Bollywood stars and Sri Lankan cricketers.

IIFA 2010 in Colombo is expected to be attended by more than 600 Indian film industry guests and watched by over 600 million TV viewers in 110 nations. (ColomboPage)

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Salman backs IIFA in Lanka

Bollywood actor Salman Khan says boycotting the Indian International Film Academy (IIFA) awards in Colombo is not the right thing to do. Khan is in Colombo to make up for the depletion in star power at the event being held from today to June 5.

Protests over the Tamil issue may have kept some of Bollywood's biggest names away from the India International Film Academy (IIFA) awards this year. NDTV managed to catch Salman and ask him about the controversy.

Salman said, "I don't really understand this. If there are some people here who are not doing well and are in trouble then we have come to entertain them. We are here to give them something.

He further said, "This way we won't be able to visit Kashmir, Gujarat or Afghanistan. If our people are in difficulty we should not abandon them."

Sri Lanka as a venue for IIFA has angered many Tamil supporters in India, who allege the Sri Lankan government of killing Tamils civilians at the height of the conflict between army and LTTE last year. A group of Tamils had marched from superstar Amitabh Bachchan's Pratiksha bungalow to his Jalsa residence in Mumbai last month urging him to boycott the Colombo awards ceremony.

The South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC) has said that it will go ahead with the boycott of Bollywood actors who are participating in the IIFA weekend. (NDTV)

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IIFA Awards 2010: Presidential Award for Anupam Kher

Bollywood's one of the most versatile actors, Anupam Kher will be honoured with the prestigious Presidential Award at the ongoing International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards here for his contribution to cinema.

55-year-old actor said 'I will get the Sri Lanka president award at the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum tomorrow (Friday) for my work in cinema. It's an honour'.

Kher will receive the award from Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Read also: Bollywood to miss IIFA Awards in Sri Lanka?

A veteran of close to 300 films, Anupam has played varied roles in his 25-year-long career. Some of his landmark films are 'Saransh', 'Daddy', 'Karma' and 'Tezaab'. Recently he was seen in offbeat films like 'Morning Walk', 'Khosla Ka Ghosla' and 'Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara'.

In 2002, he forayed into direction with 'Om Jai Jagadish' and also produced critically acclaimed films like 'Bariwali' (1999) as well as 'Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara' (2005). He has also been quite active in the theatre circuit.

Apart from that he also runs acting academy called Actor Prepares in India and abroad.

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All systems go….. for IIFA in Colombo

With the Indian International Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony beginning on Thursday, an electrician gives the final touches to a stream of bulbs across the road near the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. Followed by Vivek Oberoi, Lara Datta, Vivek and Ritesh Deshmuk who have arrived in Sri Lanka model and Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu too arrived in the island this evening. Despite a section of the South Indian cinema artistes agitating for boycott, most of the big names in Bollywood are scheduled to arrive for the Oscar of Bollywood type of awards ceremony. (AdaDerana)

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IIFA 2010 host Sri Lanka hopes to see a spurt in Indian tourists after the event

IIFA 2010 host Sri Lanka will be looking to convert the hosting opportunity into a tourism showcase, and hope to attract a larger numbers of Indians following the event.

“We aim to target 50 percent growth in Indian tourist arrivals after the event,” the Xinhua news agency quoted Laxman Yapa Abeywardene, the deputy minister of Economic Development as saying.

The two neighbours are also expected to embark on new business collaborations at the event.

Over a hundred big names from Bollywood are expected to be attending the ceremony apart from 2000 other Indians.

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Proud to be Sri Lankan at IIFA Fashion Rocks

The most dazzling, mega Indian Cinema event – the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) will blast off tomorrow at the BMICH with an elegant exclusive enviable fashion extravaganza, IIFA Fashion Rocks.

The Director IIFA and of this aesthetic and eye catching event is Sabaas Joseph who describes tomorrow’s event as “Bigger than Live” considered as Sri Lanka’s biggest PR event, IIFA Fashion Rocks will be a trail blazer event some of the best names in Bollywood industry and Sri Lanka’s taking to the catwalk to life and rhythmic musical accompaniment and stage performances of duo Saleem – Sulaiman, Anushka Manchanda, Bus, Nadro ect while idols of Indian fashion scene Vivek Oberoi, and Dia Mirza host the extravaganza, Indian designers Manish Malhothra, Vicram Phandis, Lankan designers Yolanda Aluvihare of Yoland Collections and K T Brown will put up their best for Sri Lanka. Indian model Anil Kapoor will be his normal best in typical Indian Fashion accompanying the artists.

Manish Malholthra’s collections is set to incorporate those traditional styles of the Mugal Period that spell bound the world, as those of Rajasthan in Joda- Akbar while Vicram Phandis collection would bring to the stage those from the like of Indian Films, popular, breath taking and timeless. They have expressed their excitement and delight in participating in the IIFA Fashion dream.

The Indian “Lamhaa” directed by Rahul Dholakia with the cast including Sunjey Dutt, Anupam Kher, Kunal Kapoor and vivacious Bipasha Basu besides our Indian neighbours Sri Lanka beautify Queen Jacqueline Ferdinandez, ace cricketer Kumar Sangakkara will participate.

Sri Lanka’s elegant designer Yolanda Aluvihare will bring on the stage the traditional styles and symbols of Sri Lanka together with K T brown with her own creations. Her present collection has dip-dyed, uncut garments inspired by ethnic costumes. Brown experiments with new designs and styles and considers the arena as limitless.

Giving an exclusive interview to Lankapuvath, Sri Lanka’s Fashion Designer of international fame Yolanda Aluvihare said that the IIFA Fashion show is a Golden opportunity for her to showpiece Sri Lankan fashion ware with a distinct Sri Lankan identity and heritage.

Yolanda was selected by Indians as her fashion wear had been quite popular in Delhi, Lahore, Chennai besides in other western countries.

Yolanda’s collection is based on three essential and traditional basic of our symbols of heritage Sri Lankan Masks, found nowhere else in the world, Sri Lankan flowers rare rapturous and natural, the Lotuses, Olu, and Temple Flowers and the most wonderful symbol of our environment, the proud peacock.

She would concentrate on Sri Lankan handlooms, hand woven rich materials of vibrant colours as the golden yellow to bring out the traditional motifs.

Rich silks of sunny colours all hand painted and worked to glamour with national flowers and Batik designs, the traditional Kandyan Saree with the Majestic and proud peacock in plumage, the Indian saree in delicate drape, the kaftan, and Indo-western glamour in the back drop of traditional designs would steal the show. Sri Lankan models would parade to the deep beat of the oriental drums by Indian drummers.

Sri Lanka will model 12 of the 30 outfits lined up for IIFA Fashion show tomorrow while our Indian counterparts will no doubt prove themselves tomorrow under the dazzling lights.

The Sri Lankan idols of the Bollywood screen have already started arriving in Sri Lanka for the breathtaking event where so many have contributed to the setting up of the stage, fitting of the lights, drawing of the curtains for the gala opening tomorrow 03rd June at the BMICH.

Good Luck Sri Lanka and India for a show not to be outdone. (N S Ratnapala

Lankapuvath Ltd)

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Vivek Oberoi to promote Sri Lanka

Indian actor Vivek Oberoi, who is in Sri Lanka for the International Indian Film Awards (IIFA), said that he will be embarking on several projects in the island to promote tourism and also help children affected by the conflict in the north.

The actor, in a short interview to Daily Mirror online, also praised Sri Lanka and its people including the women saying they are beautiful and makes him feel thankful to God to be single.

“I was here about 14 years ago for the Singer cup. I loved the hospitality, the warmth, the lovely people. And experiencing that again this time around is great. The beaches are still beautiful. The women are just lovely. These are times you thank God your single,” the actor said.

Oberoi also praised the Sri Lankan government for its support to some of his humanitarian projects which he will be doing in Sri Lanka in collaboration with the IIFA foundation.

The Indian actor will attend the main IIFA awards on Saturday and also take part in several side events including a fashion show and charity cricket match. (Daily Mirror online)

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Navy Commander Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe inspects IIFA Renovations at Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium

Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe visited the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium on 26th May 2010 to assess the progress of the renovations being made to hold the 11th International Indian Film Awards (IIFA) Ceremony. He was accompanied by Director Naval Civil Engineering Commodore WS Jayasinghe. Chairman of the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium Mr. Ronni Ibrahim too joined the inspection tour.

The mega renovations being effected at the venue under the directions of the Commander of the Navy are being carried out by Naval personnel of the Civil Engineering Department of the Navy utilizing their expertise and cutting edge technology of the field.

Expertise of the Naval civil engineering personnel is much sought after for a multitude of national projects. They are contributing to national development efforts in various fields such as housing, road and bridge constructions.

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IIFA awards fete to go on despite protests

Sri Lanka is all set for the 11th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards festival, scheduled from June 3 to 5, despite calls for boycott by a section of the South Indian film industry.

Being held for the first time in the island nation, it is seen as a grand opportunity by the government to showcase the post-conflict Sri Lanka as an ideal tourist and investment destination.

The government is going out of its way to make the event a big success, though it remains to be seen whether some of the big names expected to participate in the extravaganza would actually make it.

On Tuesday, Hindi film actors Vivek Oberoi, Boman Irani, Lara Dutta and Ritesh Deshmukh arrived here to participate in the IIFA events. According to the Tourism Board officials, some more leading Hindi film actors and music artistes are to arrive on Wednesday and Thursday, along with hundreds of Indian tourists.

The stated objective of IIFA is to help “bridge boundaries” between the neighbouring countries and promote discussions on economic and political issues in the wake of Sri Lanka's civil war last May.

IIFA brand ambassador and veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan was here in April to mark the official launch. The actor had called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa. On his return to India, Mr. Bachchan faced criticism from a section of the Tamil diaspora for his decision to participate in the IIFA.

For several weeks now, there have been demands by activists to boycott the Colombo event. However, last week the event's organisers put an end to all speculation by categorically asserting that there was no change in the decision to host the event in Sri Lanka.

A senior government official said the protests by a small minority were politically motivated and intended to undermine the victory of the security forces against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and efforts of the government to market Sri Lanka as a safe and ideal destination for tourism and investment.

“There is a lot of protest from the [Tamil] Tiger lobby in Tamil Nadu to the Bollywood [Hindi film] fraternity to boycott the IIFA Colombo awards. But we will go ahead with the event as planned,” Deputy Economic Development Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene told a news conference here.

The awards ceremony will have several sideline forums to strengthen business and investment links between the two countries.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will hold the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum 2010, here on Friday.

According to the organisers, the Business Forum is the highlight of the IIFA weekend, as it provides Indian and Sri Lankan business leaders with a mutually beneficial networking opportunity. The objective is to promote bilateral trade between India and the host country, said Convention Bureau Consultant Nimalka Morahela.

Speakers at the forum will include Indians like Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Tourism Union Minister Kumari Selja, Hospitality Group Chairperson Lalit Suri and Managing Director Jyotsna Suri, Western Union Services India Director Marketing Rajesh Mehta and FICCI Co-Chairman Tourism Himmat Anand.

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