Dubai: If you are planning a visit to Dubai anytime soon, then make sure you fly in around the 18th of March because that is when you are most likely to bump into B-town stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Jacqueline Fernandez and Yo Yo Honey Singh.
The Times of India Film Awards promises to be one starry night as King Khan, Varun Dhawan and Kareena Kapoor are all expected to perform at the ceremony.
Dubai: If you are planning a visit to Dubai anytime soon, then make sure you fly in around the 18th of March because that is when you are most likely to bump into B-town stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Jacqueline Fernandez and Yo Yo Honey Singh. These, along with many others from the Indian film fraternity, will be coming to Dubai for the second edition of The Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA) 2016. The first ceremony was held in Vancouver, Canada, where an audience of over 40,000 people witnessed the spectacular show – including performances by Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachhan, Anushka Sharma and Ranbir Kapoor – live.
The official announcement of the second edition was made by Varun Dhawan and Jacqueline Fernandez, who have been shooting for their upcoming film Dishoom in Abu Dhabi. Speaking to Instep, Varun Dhawan said, “It is for the first time that an award of this magnitude is going to happen outside India and to be able to interact with the global audience at such a large scale is amazing. I am particularly excited about Yo Yo’s performance as he has not performed live in a very long time but thanks to TOIFA the entire Gulf is going to watch him perform live. I am looking forward to a fabulous TOIFA weekend”.
Sameer Soni, Director International Business, Times of India Group, also gave his two cents at the press conference on the event being the biggest ever Bollywood night to be hosted in the Gulf region. “We are proud to host TOIFA in Dubai. TOIFA Dubai is going to be the biggest Bollywood event ever hosted in the Gulf region with performances by, and the presence of, some of the biggest Bollywood celebrities on one stage,” he said. “TOIFA presents a strategic engagement platform that leverages the power and pull of Bollywood to create significant economic impact for destinations and brands through increased tourism, trade and stronger bilateral relations.”
Given the kind of controversies surrounding awards ceremonies off late, one is forced to question the credibility of these awards. However, Soni assured that TOI already runs the most coveted Filmfare Awards in India and the same management is going to hold the reins of TOIFA. The winners will be carefully selected by the jury as well as through an auditable voting process.
Jacqueline Fernandez, who was spotted shooting for Zainab Chottani’s upcoming collection in the morning, seemed pretty excited about the TOIFA ceremony. She commented that “the atmosphere in Dubai is always electrifying and I look forward to adding to the magic on March 18 at the Dubai International Stadium”.
No matter how unique they make the ceremony sound, TOIFA seems to be following the IIFA format. The innumerable award functions being held these days are also taking the sheen off such awards and casting doubt on their authenticity. Nevertheless, the management has made a smart choice for the venue as Dubai, being a melting pot of diverse culture and nationalities, is house to millions of Bollywood fans who will surely turn up to witness the strong line-up of stars.
The happening city, which is already buzzing with Pakistani star power thanks to the ongoing PSL matches, has a lot to offer in the next two months. While the closing ceremony of PSL has already become the talk of the town, the city will also be hosting another big Pakistani awards night in the coming month.
– Sadiq Saleem, is a UAE based entertainment journalist.
He can be contacted on his page fb/sidsaidso.
