We went to the Oscars of Bollywood, a 5-hour extravaganza of glamorous stars, glitzy dances, and 25,000 crazed fans
NEW YORK - It was a night of glitz and glamour at the MetLife Stadium on Saturday, as the sporting venue - home of the New York Jets and the New York Giants - transformed into a colorful carnival for the International Indian Film Academy's (IIFA) annual awards ceremony.
The IIFA Awards, also known as the Oscars of Bollywood, are held at a new international destination every year, with New York City (technically New Jersey) playing host for the first time. It was the second time that the awards came to the US, however, with Tampa being a venue back in 2014.
For the uninitiated, the Indian film industry is the largest in the world, producing between 1,500 and 2,000 films a year in more than 20 languages. It is expected to reach over $3.7 billion in revenue by 2020, according to a study by Deloitte.
Bollywood is the colloquial name for the Hindi film industry, which dominates the Indian film industry and contributes 43% of its revenue. It gets its name from its center and birthplace, the city of Mumbai, previously called Bombay.
You may think you got a taste of Bollywood from the 2008 production "Slumdog Millionaire," but the British drama doesn't even come close. Bollywood films are three hour-long extravaganzas, with an eclectic mix of dance, music, and high-octane drama.
Saturday's event was nothing less - a five-hour fest replete with sets of awards, energetic dance performances, and stand-up comedy acts. IIFA itself was a four-day event beyond the awards ceremony, featuring a music concert IIFA Rocks and a fashion show at Times Square among a whole host of other activities.
Here's what it was like:
- Colon cancer rates are rising in young people. If you have two symptoms you should get a colonoscopy, a GI oncologist says.
- I spent $2,000 for 7 nights in a 179-square-foot room on one of the world's largest cruise ships. Take a look inside my cabin.
- An Ambani disruption in OTT: At just ₹1 per day, you can now enjoy ad-free content on JioCinema
- IMD predicts severe heatwave conditions over East, South Peninsular India for next five days
- COVID lockdown-related school disruptions will continue to worsen students’ exam results into the 2030s: study
- India legend Yuvraj Singh named ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 ambassador
- Maruti Suzuki Q4 net profit rises 47.8% to ₹3,877.8 crore
- 10 Incredible destinations for backpackers in India
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market