TORONTO, June 25, (Agencies): They may not be as familiar to North American movie fans as Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, but Shah Rukh Khan, Anil Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Celina Jaitley and other Bollywood stars are getting a lot of second looks in Toronto in recent days. The actors dominate the world’s biggest film industry in India, and are just a handful of the more than 200 performers who have been on hand in this Canadian city since Thursday for the 12th annual International Indian Film Awards, or IIFAs. The show, which was to be aired on Saturday night, provided the climax for three days of moviegoing, dancing, fashion, music and a business forum aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries — something event organizers hope to do around the world, too.

“Toronto is definitely the gateway to North America and we hope to maintain a great relationship with this amazing country for many years to come,” Sabbas Joseph, Director of Wizcraft International, a Mumbai based entertainment group who produced the IIFAs, said at a press conference this week.
With an expected worldwide TV audience of 700 million viewers tuning in to watch the show, tickets were scooped up in less than 10 minutes. Some 22,200 faithful, Bollywood fans were hoping to get a closer look at many of their favorite stars.
Debuting in 2000 in London, the IIFA’s have been held on four continents in cities including Dubai, Bangkok, Colombo, Singapore, Macau and Johannesburg...but never in India.

Global
The idea, organizers said, is to present Bollywood not in its home country, but on a global stage.
“We are building bridges through cinema across communities throughout the world,” said Joseph.
Singer Jermaine Jackson was on hand to perform with Indian pop star, Sonu Nigam, and he feels that being a part of the IIFA celebrations is a fitting tribute to his brother pop superstar Michael Jackson, who died on June 25 two years ago.
“We are an entertainment family and we have been entertained by Bollywood movies from the early ’70s when we first arrived in California and started the Jackson 5,” said Jackson. “That was the connection we had with Bollywood, years and years ago.”

Awards in 15 categories were up for grabs at Saturday’s green carpet event.
The larger-than-life gangster film “Once Upon a Time in Mumbai” led the pack of movie contenders with an impressive 12 nominations, including best film and best leading male role for Ajay Devgan, solidifying him as one of Bollywood’s premier actors.
“Dabangg” (or “Fearless”) was a close second with 11 nominations. The corrupt cop thriller broke box office records in its debut week in theaters and is the highest grossing Bollywood film of all time, It earned a best male role nomination for on screen tough guy Salman Khan.
“My name is Khan” went into the IIFAs with four nominations. The film looks into the struggles of a Muslim family in the US following the September 11 attacks. The film earned Bollywood heavyweight, Shah Rukh Khan, a best actor nod in his role as a man with Asperger’s Syndrome who travels across the country telling people he is not a terrorist.
Rounding out the category for best picture honors is “Ishqiya” (Love) nominated for nine IIFA awards while the romantic comedy “Band Baaja Baaraat” (The Wedding Planners) and the political thriller “Rajneeti” each have eight.

Quiet
Meanwhile, Shahrukh Khan warned fans Friday that a knee injury may prevent him from performing at the awards this weekend.
The boisterous fans outside the Fairmont Royal York hotel fell quiet for a minute when Khan broke the news before going into the hotel.
“I am doubtful if I can perform. But, I will see how I can entertain my fans,” said Khan, who tweeted a day earlier that his knee has degenerated in several places due to a hairline fracture.
Despite his injury, “King Khan,” who was scheduled to give the final performance at Saturday night’s gala awards ceremony, broke out a few impromptu dance moves inside the hotel, sending his fans into a frenzy.

“You guys have been busy multiplying very fast like the Indians do, so it’s very nice I have so many more (fans) now,” said the actor, producer and television host.
But don’t let his recent acting role fool you into thinking Khan has lost his playful side. When a reporter asked the toned actor when his fans would next get to see his six-pack abs, the suit-clad Khan smirked, “You can’t see them now? Come, come along with me, I’ll show you the six-pack.”
Anil Kapoor “feels more alive” after starting fresh in Hollywood, he told Canada’s public broadcaster Friday.
Best known in the West for his role as a gameshow host in Danny Boyle’s 2009 Academy Award-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire,” Kapoor previously starred in more than 100 Bollywood films.
Slumdog’s runaway success, however, led to roles for him in the final season of the hit US television series “24” and a casting with Tom Cruise in the upcoming “Mission Impossible 4.”
Now he is working on a thriller with English actor Clive Owen.
Stepping into supporting roles “was a challenge,” Kapoor told CBC Radio. “But I’m finding it exciting.”
“Playing a leading man for so many years, for more than 30 years, you take things for granted and there is a tendency to stagnate,” he confessed.

“Being a leading man, things move around you, everything is focused on you. Even if you do a few scenes badly it doesn’t make a different. You’re the star. Sometimes people just come to watch you, they’re not listening to you.”
But in Hollywood, “you’re just an actor and you have to prove yourself,” he said. “It’s making me feel more alive.”
Kapoor has been nominated for best comedic actor for his role in “No Problem.”
Meanwhile, Jermaine Jackson performed a nostalgic tribute concert Friday to his late brother Michael Jackson to mark the second anniversary of the pop star’s death as part of the 12th Indian International Film Awards festivities in Toronto.
Dressed in a Michael Jackson-inspired outfit, complete with a red military-style jacket, V-neck white shirt, fitted black slacks and a black cummerbund with an emblazoned number “5,” the former Jackson 5 performer sang a medley of his brother’s hits including “Scream,” ‘’Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” and “Can You Feel It.”

“This is a special moment in the show because it’s a tribute to my brother,” said Jackson moments before joining Indian singer Sonu Nigam to perform “This is It,” a song written by Nigam after the megastar’s death, which the singers dedicated to the pop icon.
The pair performed at IIFA Rocks, a Bollywood-inspired concert and fashion show bonanza which is part of the academy’s three days of film, song and dance that culminates in Saturday night’s awards ceremony.
IIFA Rocks also kickstarted the awards portion of the weekend by presenting some technical film awards in between bouts of fashion runway shows and high-energy musical performances.
Romantic comedy “Band Baaja Baarat” and the action movie “Dabangg” led the pack, each scooping up three awards.

Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum was packed with excited Bollywood fans who could hardly contain their excitement when South Asian superstars including actor Anil Kapoor, Shahrukh Khan and veteran stage and film star Anupam Kher took the stage to announce the winners.
The cheering was so raucous when the venue’s camera monitors flashed on Bollywood superstars sitting in their seats that it sometimes drowned out the hosts.
“When we’re speaking, please don’t put close-ups of big movie stars on the screen,” joked co-host Karan Johar, drawing laughter from the crowd.
Johar and co-host Anushka Sharma alternated between English and Hindi throughout the evening.
Sharma was treated to a hug by Shahrukh Khan, often referred to as “King Khan,” whose close-ups on the monitor screens drew the loudest cheers.

“I’m tired of girls giving me a hug. I want a deep passionate kiss,” said Khan.
“You’re forgetting what would happen at home if that happened,” smirked Johar.
Khan retorted, “We’re thousands and thousands of miles away. What happens in Toronto, stays in Toronto.” But in the end, he played it safe with a big bear hug for the bombshell Bollywood actress.
Much of the evening’s music was provided by Shankar Ehsaan Loy, a musical super group consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa, who also won an award for best background score for their work on “My Name is Khan,” starring Shahrukh Khan.
But the real musical superstars were British-Canadian bhangra trio RDB, whose energetic performances with singer Veronica and two players of the drum-like dhol, got the audience shaking their shoulders in their seats and cheering excitedly. (Agencies)