Thousands cheer Bollywood stars at International Indian Film Academy Awards

[edonline]

Thousands cheer Bollywood stars

Actors Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan have been cheered by thousands of fans at Indian cinema's leading awards ceremony.

The celebrity couple were among scores of stars at the International Indian Film Academy Awards in Sheffield.

Some 12,000 fans were at the Hallam FM Arena, with more at BBC big screens in Leeds, Bradford and Rotherham.

The film Rang De Basanti - Paint it Yellow - won five awards including best film at the ceremony.

The event is held in a different location around the world each year to increase the profile of Bollywood film.

Some 10% of income for Bollywood films come from outside India and Pakistan, while the UK is the second-biggest market for Indian films.

Overwhelming reception

In the days leading up to the awards, Yorkshire hosted a string of events - including a world film premiere in Castleford. The events are expected to generate £10m for the Yorkshire economy and attract some 30,000 visitors.

Other stars at the awards included Bachchan's father Amitabh, Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty.

Bachchan told the BBC he found the reception from fans "overwhelming, really overwhelming," while wife Rai, who was named most glamorous actress at the ceremony, said: "We reciprocate the love right back."

Winners at the ceremony, which continued into the early hours of Sunday, included Hrithik Roshan, who won most glamorous male star.

Rang De Basanti had 15 nominations and its awards also included best supporting actress and best musical direction.

It stars Alice Patten - daughter of Chris Patten, the UK's last governor of Hong Kong - and is about a film-maker who wants to make a movie about Indian nationalists who rose up against British rule.

Hrithik Roshan was awarded the best actor prize for his portrayal of a superhero in Krrish, Hindi for There's No one Like You.

Green carpet

Collecting the award, he said: "May our children never be afraid to dream the impossible because if someone like me can get this far, nothing is impossible."

Best actress was Rani Mukherji for Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, or Never Say Goodbye, while Rajkumar Hirani won the best director award for musical comedy Lage Raho Munnabhai.

Shilpa Shetty received a special award for the way she conducted herself after the Celebrity Big Brother racism row.

A green carpet was used at the arena instead of a red carpet to highlight environmental issues.

Sheffield has the third-largest population of British Asians in the UK, and tourist officials say the awards will bring £10m of income to the area.

AWARD WINNERS
Best picture: Rang De Basanti
Best actor: Hrithik Roshan (Krrish - above)
Best actress: Rani Mukheriji (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna)
Best director: Rajkumar Hirani (Lage Raho Munnabhai)

Published: 2007/06/10 05:43:58 GMT

© BBC MMVII

[JJFlamingo]

Ya know Richard Gere was cheering...

[someguy]

So this is newsworthy because it shows Bollywood being accepted and cheered for in countries outside of the Indian area? Maybe if this was for something not involving Bollywood I would think oh alright, but it's not a surprise that people would be cheering for Bollywood actors at the Bollywood awards.

[edonline]

Originally posted by someguy
So this is newsworthy because it shows Bollywood being accepted and cheered for in countries outside of the Indian area? Maybe if this was for something not involving Bollywood I would think oh alright, but it's not a surprise that people would be cheering for Bollywood actors at the Bollywood awards.

I posted this article because I thought it might be of interest to movie fans. PERIOD. People do have interests in movies made outside of Hollywood, USA and some might enjoy Indian films and the stars who make them. I'm sorry if you don't consider it to be newsworthy enough.

[53rdand3rd]

Yeah, this is no big surprise, I'm pretty sure Aishwarya Rai is practically royalty over there.

[someguy]

Originally posted by edonline
I posted this article because I thought it might be of interest to movie fans. PERIOD. People do have interests in movies made outside of Hollywood, USA and some might enjoy Indian films and the stars who make them. I'm sorry if you don't consider it to be newsworthy enough.

The post wasn't directed towards you since I know that's why you posted it, it was towards the BBC for making a pretty crap news story.

[QUENTIN]

Paint It Yellow was a great movie, I'm glad to see it won. Aishwarya Rai really is one of the most beautiful women in the world too.

Thanks for the story ed.