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Although the awards, known as the IIFAs, will be handed out at a special ceremony in the Sheffield Arena on Saturday June 9th, events to mark the occasion will be taking place across Yorkshire - including here in Bradford and Wakefield.
 | | Glitz and glam: That's Bollywood! |
BBC Yorkshire's very own Bollywood reporter Roopa Rajani explains why the IIFAs are important: "Just as Hollywood has its awards ceremonies, Bollywood does too. The International India Film Academy Awards (IIFAs) are one of them. They have even been compared to the Oscars. London hosted the very first IIFAs at the Millennium Dome in 2000. Since then, the IIFAs have been on an international journey, giving each country they visit a touch of Bollywood glamour. Cities like Johannesburg, Amsterdam and Dubai have hosted the ceremony, and this year Yorkshire beat off competition from the likes of LA and Melbourne to add their name to the prestigious IIFA list." Bollywood is the world's largest film industry. Based in Mumbai, India (aka Bombay), it's the home of Hindi cinema producing around 1000 films a year so it's quite likely that many eyes across the world will be turning towards Yorkshire this June. Hosting the 2007 awards ceremony in Sheffield will be comic actors Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani and they will be joined by model turned actress Lara Datta but, as Roopa points out, the 'Who's Who' of Bollywood will be there! The tickets for the event are completely sold out but you can do the next best thing and get to Bradford's Centenary Square from 7pm for the live and exclusive presentation of the ceremony on the city's BBC Big Screen.
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In fact, Bradford's Big Screen is providing its very own outdoor film festival over three days with screenings (with English subtitles) of some of the biggest films to come out of Bollywood in recent years. And if you're not sure what to expect then Roopa can help: "Bollywood films are usually musicals – but the actors don't actually sing. There are a number of famous playback singers who sing the songs, and the actors 'lipsync'. A very clever trick! Very few films are made without at least one song-and-dance number. Indian audiences expect full value for their money - they want songs and dances, love interest, comedy and dare-devil thrills, all mixed up in a three hour long extravaganza with an interval! Films like this have also been nicknamed the true 'masala' movie, as they are like a traditional Indian spice box – a little bit of everything!" And that's not all that's happening in Centenary Square. On Friday and Saturday evenings (9.30pm) and Saturday afternoon (3.30pm) there will be a dance and music extravaganza celebrating the industry. The organisers of 'Bollywood Steps' promise "exciting dance numbers, outrageous props, smoke, glamour, courtship and a kaleidoscope of quick costume changes." Running alongside this, and kicking off on Thursday, is the Bollywood Bazaar complete with food, fashion and street entertainment. Meanwhile, people in the BD3 area are throwing their own party, the Bradford Moor Park Extravaganza. It's at Bradford Moor Park on Saturday from 11am to 5pm.
 | | Catch the IIFA ceremony LIVE on the Big Screen! |
And then there's Wakefield! On the afternoon of Saturday 9th June it's time for the Mela in Clarence Park which it's promised will bring people together for food, music and dance from around the world. Acts on the centre stage including Manasamitra, Papa Jaca and Claudio Kron from Brazil, not to mention the Wakefield Jazz Society and Wakefield's Metropolitan Brass Band. Not only that, but inside the Mela Marquee two Bollywood films will be showing: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge - a romantic tale of second-generation Indians living in Britain - runs from 11.30am to 2.15pm and Hum Tum will be premiered from 3pm. And the Wakefield Mela isn't the only IIFA-related event in the district - the whole Bollywood 'weekend' kicks off on Thursday June 7th with a 'star-studded' IIFA film premiere in Castleford! Finally, and slightly further afield, at the heart of Yorkshire cricket in Headingley, the best of Bollywood will team up with Indian cricketing legends to play against a team from England in the IIFA Foundation Celebrity Cricket Match. Watch out for the BBC's very own Harry Gration! [All images, except photos of the BBC Bradford Big Screen, by Stirling Media] | 
