Premier Christy Clark to announce big Bollywood bash planned for B.C.

VANCOUVER DESI

Bollywood actress Chitrangada Singh is expected to attend Tuesday’s press conference about the Times of India film awards in Vancouver, B.C. STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images

Premier Christy Clark is expected to announce Tuesday that Vancouver has been chosen to host the inaugural edition of The Times of India Film Awards.

The mega event is expected to attract a host of A-listers from Bollywood and foster trade and tourism ties between B.C. and India.

Details of the announcement have been kept under wraps as speculation on the scope of the event has been circulating in the Indo-Canadian community.

Among those expected at tomorrow’s press conference are Indian film director Karan Johar, Bollywood starlet Chitrangada Singh and world-renowned choreographer Shaimak Davar.

Clark is also expected to announce the province’s financial commitment to the show, which is expected to be around $10 million and which will also include an India-B.C. business forum.

Bollywood, the mainstay of India’s movie industry. produces about 1,000 films a year and is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

The Bollywood event in Vancouver is not part of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, also known as the Bollywood Oscars.

A bid from the British Columbia government on behalf of Vancouver for those awards was rejected for 2013, said a statement from IIFA organizers, Wizcraft International.

The bidding process for the IIFA awards is currently on with a number of countries from the Middle East, South America, Europe and Africa vying for the Bollywood extravaganza to come to their city, IANS reported.

“The decision is subject to many contributing factors that are required of a host destination in terms of support-initiatives for Hindi cinema production, funding and distribution; event-funding, support, facilitation, and infrastructure,” said Sabbas Joseph, director, IIFA and Wizcraft International. “We are committed to the film industry and hosting an IIFA in any destination must meet the larger interests of Indian cinema and a spectacular staging of the annual celebration,” he added.

The dates and venue for the 2013 edition of the IIFA Weekend and Awards will be formally announced soon.

In 2011, IIFA successfully forayed into North America, marking its premiere in Canada, in the city of Toronto. Following its success there, there was keen interest from the country to play host once more in 2013, with Christy Clark, the Premier of British Columbia, formally extending an invitation to the organizers to hold its 14th edition in Vancouver.

Over the years, IIFA has already been to destinations like London, Yorkshire, Johannesburg, Dubai, Amsterdam, Singapore, Bangkok, Colombo and Macau.

Full details of the Bollywood event in Vancouver will be on Vancouver Desi as it is announced.

Tags: Awards, B.C., Bollywood, Chitrangada Singh, Christy Clark, film, Vancouver