Two-day extravaganza to feature Hollywood, Bollywood and Tollywood stars.
Indian superstar Shahrukh Khan launched the Indian Academy Awards (IAA), that looks to bridge the gap between Hollywood and the Indian film industry, at the US Consulate, Mumbai.
From exchanging cultures to building bridges for tourism, engaging cinema lovers to creating a platform to identify potential talent for the Indian film industry, the IAA is a real-time celebration of cinema lovers, by cinema lovers and for cinema lovers across the world.
What makes these awards stand out is the fact that it invites a global audience to be part of the jury, by a simple registration process. The IAA also has one of the biggest certifying agencies in the world to authentic the voting process.
The extravaganza will be nothing short of a mega show that brings the best of Hollywood , Bollywood and Tollywood together to create history in the entertainment world and will be hosted at the Oracle Arena in the Bay Area, Silicon Valley in California.
Founded by Brainstorm Entertainment and backed by event stalwart Cineyug, the IAA will be choreographed by the contemporary dance guru of India Shiamak Davar.
It will have everything a cinema aficionado could hope for –from the biggest stars of this generation to industry veterans, both from the Hindi and South Indian film industry, appealing to a wider NRI audience.
The masterminds behind the Indian Academy Awards, Brainstorm Entertainment, launched by Vandana Krishna and Saurabh Pandey, in 2014, has been creating properties world-wide.
The “Golden Knight” trophy and logo of the Indian Academy Awards was unveiled on Thursday by Shahrukh Khan in the presence of national and international dignitaries.
Talking about his association with the IAA, Khan said, “I’m happy to associate with the first of its kind Indian Academy Awards , which is an amalgamation of everything a cinema-lover could hope for. This academy invites everyone to be part of a movement that will refine the entertainment world.”
The two-day celebration will flag off with a fashion show and a musical extravaganza that will feature some of the biggest Indian musicians and international artists. It will close with the grand finale of the Bollywood, Hollywood and Tollywood award ceremony –a heady mix of grand sets, exquisite costumes and of course a galaxy of stars set against the beautiful backdrop of California.
Saurabh Pandey, founder of the IAA, said, “The Indian film industry is going global and the Indian Academy Awards is a celebration of that global, democratic academy that is completely transparent and all encompassing. Our aim with these awards is to bring a sense of realism and credibility to cinema awards in the Indian film industry. This is an academy that never sleeps”.
The US Consul General Tom Vajda said, “We are very pleased to support the collaboration between the American and Indian film industries, in a way that recognizes and promotes great talent and storytelling in movies. California is a perfect destination to showcase this for both American and Indian audiences”.
“The Indian Academy Awards will not only be a further merger of Hollywood and Bollywood, the two biggest entertainment industries in the world, but also help create a deeper connection between the United States and India, the two biggest democracies in the world,” said Paresh A. Shah, Chairman of Hollywood Bollywood Entertainment, from Los Angeles.
Audiences can log on to www.indianacademeyaward.com to vote for their favorite stars and movies in over 21 categories.