The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards, will commence in Bangkok on Thursday. The gala will not just feature power-packed performances by celebrities including Rekha, performing live on stage after 20 years but will also seek to raise awareness about women's empowerment, gender equality, and plastic pollution.
Having been exhibiting the prowess of Bollywood, celebrating the magic of Hindi cinema on foreign shores, IIFA has been held at picturesque locales such as Johannesburg, Amsterdam, Dubai, Colombo, Toronto, Singapore, Tampa Bay, Kuala Lumpur and New York.
For its 19th edition, the organisers have a glittering show planned at the 2,000-seater Siam Niramit in Bangkok. The three-day gala will witness the presence of some of Hindi filmdom's iconic stars and new actors on the red carpet, in the audience and on stage. Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Bobby Deol and Nushrat Bharucha are among those in the performers' line-up, but Rekha's stage act will clearly be a highlight at the awards night, hosted by Riteish Deshmukh and Karan Johar.
Apart from the visual spectacle, IIFA has tied up UN Environment for the campaign "Beat Plastic Pollution", the theme for World Environment Day 2018. Actress Dia Mirza, the UN Environment goodwill ambassador for India, reportedly will front this.
IIFA has also partnered with Woosh Washing Expert to support the cause of equality at home via the campaign "Barabari Ghar Se Shuru", which will raise awareness for women empowerment and gender equality. That apart, this year the event has an Osian's IIFA Cinema Heritage Auction event.