On The Scene: IIFA Hosts Its 18th Annual Award Show In New York

Well, New Jersey, but close enough…On June 16, The Indian International Film Academy (IIFA) held their 18^th annual awards ceremony in New York at the MetLife Stadium. This awards show honors the biggest and brightest names in Bollywood and celebrates the incredible world of Indian Cinema. This year’s show was hosted by the talented and lively Saif Ali Khan and Karan Johar. Both of these hosts had such a sharp tongue and really carried the show with their clever senses of humor. But this show isn’t solely about showcasing how funny Saif and Karan are together. Throughout the night, there were amazing performances such as dance and musical numbers as well as some of the talented people in Bollywood being honored. Here are some of the highlights of this year’s show.

One of the first performances of the night was done by the rising superstar, Alia Bhatt. Alia kicked off this show with a high energy dance number to a compilation of her hit songs. Not only did she keep up with the energy of her songs, but she even sang a little bit live during her number. The best part of this performance, other than Alia busting multiple moves with her backup dancers in neon body suits, was at the end she hopped in a car and drove around the arena. Not only was this an epic ending, but it allowed most of the people on the ground floor to surround her car as it moved and take pictures with her. It was EPIC.

Another highlight of this show was Taapsee Pannu receiving the ‘Woman of the Year’ Award. She recently played a sexual assault survivor in her movie Pink and also received the Best Actress nomination for this role. She received this Woman of the Year award from Preity Zinta and delivered a heartfelt and touching speech about what it was like to step into this role.

A big part of the night was Salman Khan. He really didn’t do much but whenever the camera panned to him, the audience went wild. He had everyone fawning over him and all he really had to do was smile. But, in all seriousness, that smile is a blessing to the world.

And if we are talking about big moments from this show, we have to mention the killer performance by Katrina Kaif. She killed it. There’s nothing else to really say. In a bright yellow top and jet black leather pants, Katrina made the crowd go wild by performing to songs like ‘Kamli’ and ‘Dhoom Machale’ from the movie ‘Dhoom 3.’ If you don’t know those songs, go listen to it because they are not only bangers, but also epic jams.

And one of the biggest highlights of the evening was vocal talent AR Rahman being honored and celebrated for his 25 years in this industry. It is no exaggeration to say that he is one of the most talented and renowned singers in the world and so this celebration of him at the end of the show was nothing but necessary.

Here is a list of winners for the night:

Style Icon of the Year: Alia Bhatt

Woman of the Year: Taapsee Pannu

Best Music Direction: Pritam for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil

Best Lyrics: Amitabh Bhattacharya for Channa Mereya

Best Playback Singer (Male): Amit Mishra for Bulleya

Best Playback Singer (Female): Kanika Kapoor for ‘Da Da Dasse’ and Tulsi Kumar for ‘Soch Na Sake’

Best Performance in a Comic Role: Varun Dhawan for Dishoom

Best Performance in a Negative Role: Jim Sarbh for Neerja

Best Story: Ayesha Devitre Dhillon and Shakun Batra for Kapoor & Sons

Best Debutante (Female): Disha Patani for MS Dhoni: The Untold Story

Best Debutant (Male): Diljit Dosanjh for Udta Punjab