Toronto gears up for 12th IIFA film awards

“Toronto will be Bollywood central,” said actor Anil Kapoor at the official launch of the International Indian Film Academy celebrations to be held here June 23-25.

The ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ star said that he was not worried about the absence of Amitabh Bachchan,who is no longer the ambassador of this year’s IIFA awards,hoping that the megastar and his family would attend the ceremony. “I think Canada’s going to be rocking this summer,” said actress Preity Zinta,who is also here to promote the event.

“Finally IIFA has made it here and I think it’s going to be a real treat for the people because it’s not just about the awards. There’s so much cultural exchange,” she added.

Toronto holds a special place in her heart,Preity told fans and media who greeted her shortly after her arrival. “This place is special because I shot a difficult film here called ‘Heaven on Earth’ with Deepa Mehta. It’s the film that got me my first international award,” she said.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty also addressed the news conference Wednesday,attended by about 500 industry delegates,saying,”We’re here in big numbers because this is a big deal.”

McGuinty was accompanied by his ministers of tourism and culture,and trade and economic development,sponsors and organisers who discussed preparations for the event. “Ontario’s diversity makes us strong and the IIFA weekend and awards are proof of that. The weekend will build on the growing economic and cultural ties between our province and India and showcase Ontario to the world,” he said.

The “grandest celebration of Indian cinema abroad” is expected to bring 40,000 visitors and attract more than 600 million TV viewers around the globe.

The province is giving IIFA $12 million toward the event out of its tourism budget.

The weekend’s highlights are an invitation-only film premiere in Brampton,a ticketed Ricoh Coliseum fashion show and the Rogers Centre awards gala.

IIFA director Sabbas Joseph promised three days of “glamour,glitz and splendour.”