Film Festival

Sri Lanka rolls out the red carpet for IIFA

The 11th edition of the IIFA Weekend began here on Thursday with the host country Sri Lanka rolling out the red carpet for Bollywood actors who are participating in the extravaganza despite calls to boycott the event.

Stars such as Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan are participating in the controversy-ridden event which has been boycotted by the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce as a mark of protest against the alleged mistreatment of the Tamils in the country.

The arriving stars were given a warm welcome by the Lankan fans at the Bandaranaike International Airport today.

Roads leading from the airport at Katunayake to Colombo were manned by police and army personnel and a pilot vehicle escorted all guests along the hour long drive from the airport to the city.

For the first time, IIFA brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan is not attending the three-day event which has come to be known as the ‘Bollywood’s Oscars’ outside Indian shores.

The megastar is currently shooting in Gujarat while his actor son Abhishek is in Istanbul for a film shoot and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai is in Paris to promote a brand.

Shah Rukh Khan who has not attended the IIFA weekends since 2005, has decided to give it a miss this time as well citing the ongoing production of Ra.one.

But Sri Lankan cricket captain Kumar Sangakara applauded the film personalities for their “courage and conviction” in coming to Colombo despite obstacles.

Sangakara who will play a charity match against a team led by Hrithik and Sunil Shetty said that his countrymen were “true fans” of Bollywood stars and expressed confidence that his country would live up to the challenge.

Actor Vivek Oberoi who has spoken up against the protests said that though he had a special relationship with Tamil Nadu, he believes that the IIFA event will actually benefit the displaced Tamil population of Sri Lanka.

“My foundation-Yashodhara Oberoi foundation has worked for the rehabilitation of 3,000 Tsunami affected families in Tamil Nadu. Any platform that does good work is a good platform. My foundation and IIFA along with Tamil NGOs and Sri Lankan NGOs are joining hands to build homes for war affected people in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka,” he said.

Jacqueline Fernandez, the Sri Lankan beauty queen who debuted in Bollywood with Aladin opposite Riteish Deshmukh thanked the film fraternity for supporting her country.

Variety of events

The IIFA weekend will see many events including film launches, a charity cricket match and a fashion show, leading up to the gala award ceremony on Saturday.

Salman along with co-star Sonakshi Sinha will walk the ramp at the fashion extravaganza to showcase his upcoming film Dabangg.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksha will inaugurate the FICCI-IIFA Global business forum on Friday which will be attended by prominent personalities from the field of business, entertainment and cricket from both countries.

Films like Help, Lamha and Knockout will be showcased while there will be a sneak preview of Kingdom of Dreams where Hussain Kuwajerwala, Isha Sharvani and Gauhar Khan will perform a piece from the soon to be launched theatre production.

The grand finale of the three day extravaganza, the IIFA awards on June 5, will see star studded performances from Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Bipasha Basu, Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi and Jacqueline.

Duration : 0:2:12

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Sri Lanka rolls out the red carpet for IIFA

The 11th edition of the IIFA Weekend began here on Thursday with the host country Sri Lanka rolling out the red carpet for Bollywood actors who are participating in the extravaganza despite calls to boycott the event.

Stars such as Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan are participating in the controversy-ridden event which has been boycotted by the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce as a mark of protest against the alleged mistreatment of the Tamils in the country.

The arriving stars were given a warm welcome by the Lankan fans at the Bandaranaike International Airport today.

Roads leading from the airport at Katunayake to Colombo were manned by police and army personnel and a pilot vehicle escorted all guests along the hour long drive from the airport to the city.

For the first time, IIFA brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan is not attending the three-day event which has come to be known as the ‘Bollywood’s Oscars’ outside Indian shores.

The megastar is currently shooting in Gujarat while his actor son Abhishek is in Istanbul for a film shoot and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai is in Paris to promote a brand.

Shah Rukh Khan who has not attended the IIFA weekends since 2005, has decided to give it a miss this time as well citing the ongoing production of Ra.one.

But Sri Lankan cricket captain Kumar Sangakara applauded the film personalities for their “courage and conviction” in coming to Colombo despite obstacles.

Sangakara who will play a charity match against a team led by Hrithik and Sunil Shetty said that his countrymen were “true fans” of Bollywood stars and expressed confidence that his country would live up to the challenge.

Actor Vivek Oberoi who has spoken up against the protests said that though he had a special relationship with Tamil Nadu, he believes that the IIFA event will actually benefit the displaced Tamil population of Sri Lanka.

“My foundation-Yashodhara Oberoi foundation has worked for the rehabilitation of 3,000 Tsunami affected families in Tamil Nadu. Any platform that does good work is a good platform. My foundation and IIFA along with Tamil NGOs and Sri Lankan NGOs are joining hands to build homes for war affected people in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka,” he said.

Jacqueline Fernandez, the Sri Lankan beauty queen who debuted in Bollywood with Aladin opposite Riteish Deshmukh thanked the film fraternity for supporting her country.

Variety of events

The IIFA weekend will see many events including film launches, a charity cricket match and a fashion show, leading up to the gala award ceremony on Saturday.

Salman along with co-star Sonakshi Sinha will walk the ramp at the fashion extravaganza to showcase his upcoming film Dabangg.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksha will inaugurate the FICCI-IIFA Global business forum on Friday which will be attended by prominent personalities from the field of business, entertainment and cricket from both countries.

Films like Help, Lamha and Knockout will be showcased while there will be a sneak preview of Kingdom of Dreams where Hussain Kuwajerwala, Isha Sharvani and Gauhar Khan will perform a piece from the soon to be launched theatre production.

The grand finale of the three day extravaganza, the IIFA awards on June 5, will see star studded performances from Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Bipasha Basu, Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi and Jacqueline.

Duration : 0:1:1

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Executive Producer, Kathy DiFiore’s educational docu-drama, “Surviving The Streets” provides a realistic view of teen-age urban life and choices that kids have to make when faced with gang violence. DiFiore has worked with inner city youth and has received Humanitarian awards from the NJ State Assembly, the Martin Luther King Jr. 2005 Award from the United Methodist Church of Newark, NJ and was honored with a White House visit with President Ronald Reagan in 1988.

DiFiore, no stranger to controversy, says, “If we can stop one youth from joining a street gang, then we have succeeded with this film”. Since mid 1998 Kathy has devoted much of her time to producing the evidence-based The Choice Game, a DVD/computer game created by Several Sources Shelters, Inc. to help young people make choices and learn the consequences of their choices. Executive Producer, DiFiore and Director, Adam Litwinski, were awarded the 2007 New York International Independent Film Festival award for Best Educational Film and Best Director of an Educational Film. Litwinski comments, “This was a challenging film because while we were providing hope and reasons for escaping gang violence, we were also portraying the darkest sides of it.

Associate Producer and veteran Music Producer, Jeff Billingsley CEO of Cobblestone Records adds “Our approach to this film was to make sure that we captured the realistic feel and pulse of the realities that youth face regarding gang involvement. The creation of the script, the many focus groups we held, all the way to the music we created for the film score accomplished this. Our production was a very detailed process to make our points to change kids lives now and in the future.”

The project began with a script that not only reflected the real world of inner city gang violence and its consequences but also gave the viewer an opportunity to view an alternative ending based on positive choices. “Surviving The Streets” stars local teens from Essex County, New Jersey and has the endorsement of the Newark Public Schools and the Newark Police Department.

Dr. Vincent Mays, Director of Alternative Education for the Newark Public Schools, approached DiFiore to create a tool to help prevent gangs in Newark. This truly became a community project as we worked with the students, the teachers, the social workers, the police and the victims of gang violence. It is our dream that Surviving the Streets inspires young people to make positive choices when faced with tough decisions regarding gangs and urban life, says Mays.

Attorney General Eric Holder on August 24, 2009 at the White House Conference on Gang Violence Prevention and Crime Control stated, We need to make sure we regularly pursue innovation. This is what Surviving the Streets attempts to accomplish. In the midst of the chaos, destruction and criminal offense, the young actors are given the choices to offer hope and become a positive influence on their futures, their families and their communities. FOR MORE INFO GO TO www.respectchallenges.org

Duration : 0:5:34

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