Bollywood star power thrust Toronto on the world stage this past summer—showcasing the city to the more than 700 million people around the planet who tuned in to watch the International Indian Film Academy awards (IIFAs).
Toronto was the first North American city to host the massive ceremony on June 25 that celebrates the best of Indian cinema. Dozens of celebrities, including mega star Shah Rukh Khan, converged in the GTA to attend screenings, parties, a fashion show, and, of course, the main event which is often referred to as the Bollywood Oscars.
“To have such a large global celebration of Bollywood cinema right here in the city of Toronto was monumental,” OMNI TV’s Bollywood reporter Mohit Rajhans said.
The IIFAs, which began in 2000, are held in a different city every year. Previous host cities include Amsterdam, Bangkok, Dubai, London and Sun City, South Africa. The Toronto edition was held at the packed Rogers Centre.
“The whole idea of IIFA was to take Indian cinema around the world, not only to educate those who aren’t aware of Indian cinema, but also to take the Indian cinema to those who are growing up with it and it’s a part of their culture,” Noreen Khan, IIFA’s project head in Toronto, told CityNews before the big event.
The sheer global star power on display at the IIFAs was a hard act to follow for the Toronto International Film Festival—a favourite stop of the festival circuit for many A-list Hollywood stars. Throngs of dedicated fans followed the Bollywood celebrities virtually every step of their way through the city, starting at the arrivals gates at Pearson International Airport.
“I’d grown up watching some of these people my whole life and for the fans to get that up close and person with stars who were here to really celebrate a style of cinema that’s grown so much globally — it was a sense of pride for someone like myself,” Rajhans said.
OMNI Television said its IIFA broadcast was the highest-rated show in its history.
“To be a part of that, knowing that it came from a Bollywood sphere, was an amazing accomplishment,” Rajhans said.
Khan immediately capitalized on the success of the award show in Toronto, Rajhans said, by holding one of the global premiers of his box office smash Ra.One in Toronto months later. The film had the largest budget of any Indian film in history.
Another Canadian city may have the honour of hosting the event, thanks to the success in Toronto, Rajhans said.
“I think we’ve also set the stage for potentially Vancouver taking the IIFAs at some point, and possibly other cities.”
