With stars galore, IIFA gets off to rocking start in KL
Kuala Lumpur: With stars like Hrithik Roshan, Arjun Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Jacqueline Fernandez and veterans like Anil Kapoor, Anupam Kher and Subhash Ghai in attendance, the 16th edition of International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards kickstarted here on Friday with much fanfare.
The three-day gala began on a business-related note with FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum, where Anupam spoke about the Indian cinema and how it's flourishing under the country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Hero No. 1" director David Dhawan and filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala were also present at the forum and expressed interest in making films in Malaysia.
What followed was a star-studded opening press conference, graced by Bipasha Basu, Anupam, Anil, Ayushmann Khurrana, Sonakshi, Lauren Gottlieb, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kanika Kapoor, Arjun, Jacqueline Fernandez and Kainaat Arora. Also present was Ghai, who will be conferred the lifetime achievement award on Sunday.
"This weekend of IIFA will be the best," Anil said here.
The opener itself gave a glimpse into the fun in store over the IIFA 2015 weekend. While Ayushmann, who will co-host music extravaganza IIFA Rocks on Friday, sang a few lines of his hit number "Pani da rang" during the conference, the celebrities also shook leg on Arjun Kapoor's song "Tune maari entriyaan".
Sonakshi, who will croon at IIFA Rocks and will also dance on the awards night, was delighted to visit Malaysia after a long time.
