In a bid to bring Bollywood on a global platform, India-based Cineyug, and Brainstorm Entertainment has put together the first Indian Academy Awards. The glamorous evening will unfold in the Silicon Valley on July 7-8 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. The event promises at least two stellar performances by Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit Nene.
"We want to create a platform for Indian cinema and world cinema," said Vandana Krishna, co-founder of Brainstorm Entertainment. "The whole idea came when we were looking at cinema and how it was going global; we figured out that the Indian film industry is going global today. Therefore, the awards are a celebration, a dedication to this democratic academy. These awards are for the people, by the people and of the people." Krishna announced an open voting system, stressing that the process would be "transparent, honest, and absolutely credible." She said, "We will be doing a global voting to engage viewers across the world who are cinema lovers to vote and choose their favourite stars."
The awards, which will be hosted by Shah Rukh, will be a two-day extravaganza of live performances featuring stars from Bollywood, South Indian Cinema, and Hollywood, all choreographed by dance guru Shiamak Davar. Close to 60,000 people are expected to attend. "We are expecting a full house. The idea is to also create glamour and business opportunities for those designers and for people to buy those clothes. It's not only about showcasing; it's also about converting it into business." While the line up has not been revealed, Krishna said there would be five/six dance performances.
