DUBAI, 16 June 2006 — Indian film icon Amitabh Bachchan and southern Indian star Prabhu opened the International Indian Film Association’s film festival and awards at the Grand Cineplex in Dubai yesterday morning in a rare display of solidarity among the highly competitive Indian film companies.
“Contrary to popular opinion, the Hindi film industry is not the largest in the world — the Telugu film industry is,” Bachchan said at the opening of the festival.
“Commercially and financially, the Tamil and Telugu film industries are far ahead of Hindi cinema, and I am delighted that the festival is showcasing South Indian films and those from other Indian regions to show the true diversity of Indian cinema.”
Veteran Tamil film star Prabhu, who has performed in more than 100 movies so far, also thanked festival coordinators for extending a warm invitation to South Indian film. The actor-producer is appearing at the festival alongside his hit Tamil film “Chandramukhi.” The film’s director P. Vasu was also present at the festival’s inauguration.
“We are delighted to be sitting here next to Amitabh Bachchan, and we are thankful for this opportunity to showcase Indian cinema together,” he said.
The film festival is for the first time showcasing cinema from the regional Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film industries within India in addition to the more internationally known popular Hindi films.
Hundreds of fans traveled from as far as Bombay, Delhi, Pakistan, UK and Mauritius to be a part of festival. The security around the Grand Hyatt was tight yesterday due to the presence of top film stars and VIP guests.
Dubai is the sixth city to host the event after London, Sun City, South Africa, Genting Highlands, Malaysia, Johannesburg, South Africa, Singapore and Amsterdam.
The Festival will continue until Saturday.
The organizers confirmed that the performances at the final awards ceremony at the Central Hall at the Dubai Airport Expo would be hosted by Fardeen Khan, Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif.
The ceremony will include performances by Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Rani Mukherjee, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta and Dia Mirza, Himesh Reshamiya, Akshay Kapoor and Sikandar.