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International awards for desi films

Paran Balakrishnan in London

London's Millennium Dome is soon to witness a rather unique event. Bollywood king Amitabh Bachchan and reigning Miss World Yukta Mookhey have announced a new Bollywood Awards Ceremony that will be held here on June 24. The announcement was made in a press conference at the Millennium Dome itself, in Greenwich, London.

The show is expected to bring together some of India's biggest stars. To be co-hosted by Mookhey, the event is sponsored by television channels Sony Entertainment Television and B4U and organised by Wizcraft.

The ceremony, christened the International Indian Film Awards (IIFA) is a part of Bollywood's attempt to reach out to a global audience. "I am proud that Indian cinema has gone beyond Indian shores," said Bachchan, who is part of an eight-member advisory board that will shortlist the year's best films. Predicting that the Indian movie industry is about to "explode," he said, "Everyone foresees a huge boom in entertainment."

The final winner of the Best Movie category will be decided after an Internet poll that will give Bollywood lovers a chance to pick their favourite film. The advisory board will pick five films (released in 1999) to participate in the Internet poll.

The eight-member advisory board includes Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, Yash Johar, David Dhawan, J P Dutta, Jeetendra, Pankaj Nihalani and Ramesh Sippy. The international accounting firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers will draw up a nominations list for the technical awards. A special award for Lifetime Achievement will also be made.

"This will be an opportunity for Bollywood to showcase its products before an international audience," says an organiser. Future IFFAs will be held at different exotic locations around the world. The next venue is likely to be Sun City, South Africa.

The ceremony is the first on this scale in Britain. A giant film awards function was held in the United States last year by another organiser.