A star-studded IIFA Stomp event was held at Times Square after the conclusion of the press conference.
The International Indian Film Academy Awards 2017 (IIFA) has kick started in New York with an official press conference held at the Metropolitan Ballroom of Sheraton Times Square Hotel.
Bollywood actors including Salman Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, Sushant Singh Rajput, Kirti Sanon, and Varun Dhawan attended the event.
Marking the beginning of this year’s award ceremony, the Academy arrange the Nasdaq stock exchange bell; an important step that denotes the elevation of Indian cinema to a global stage. The Academy rang the Nasdaq bell showing support for the project of Vedanta Resources called Nand Ghar Project, which is a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).
This year’s award ceremony, for the first time, arranged a Gala Dinner by the name “Shuruaat Gala” and the IIFA Societal Innovation Summit, which is a fund raising event is co-organized by The Global Education and Leadership Foundation at The Pierre, New York.
Both the events saw many celebrities from the Hindi film industry, business leaders, philanthropists, and personalities from media, education, and arts thronging in large numbers.
As part of the festival, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will host the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum on Friday at the Asia Society.
The Business Forum is organized by Consulate General of India- New York, the Asia Society and the US-India Business Council (USIBC).
The theme of this year’s Global Business Forum is India and United States: Partners in Progress. The forum will discuss US-India Commercial relation with emphasis on US-India Economic Partnership, Defense and Security, Manufacturing, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Media and Entertainment.
A star-studded IIFA Stomp event was held at Times Square after the conclusion of the press conference.
Siddharth Kannan made the welcome note greeting New Yorkers and tourists on behalf of the Indian film fraternity.
Varun Dhawan took the stage and danced to the tune of some of the latest Bollywood flicks. DJ Amann Nagpal, DJ Nasha, and Electronica icon B.R.E.E.D joined Dhavan and took the audience to the zenith of entertainment.
IIFA Stomp fashion show saw Dia Mirza, Taapsee Pannu, Shilpa Shetty, Neha Dhupia, Disha Patani, and Huma Qureshi hitting the ramp.
Commenting on the occasion, Sabbas Joseph, Director- Wizcraft International, the producers and creators of the IIFA movement says, “Given IIFA’s multi-faceted nature, we are pleased to ring in the 18th Edition of IIFA Weekend And Awards at the Nasdaq Stock Market Bell ringing ceremony. We are thrilled to bring in India’s biggest and most spectacular global celebration of cinema and we can’t wait for IIFA to take over the City of New York and America.”