Indian film awards returns to Macau for three-day extravaganza
Film, fashion and fun return to Macau for the annual IIFA Awards. Kylie Knott finds out why the Indian extravaganza is more than just a big party
"Magical and insane! That's how I'd sum it up," Sabbas Joseph says down the phone from Mumbai where the company he co-founded, Wizcraft International Entertainment, is based. "But this year's will be crazier than ever."
The magical insanity Joseph is referring to is the 14th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, which returns to The Venetian in Macau on July 4-6.
The annual event is a glamorous affair attended by a "who's who" of Indian cinema and viewed by more than 600 million people, making it one of the world's most-watched entertainment events. And Wizcraft has been behind it every glitzy step of the way, ever since it staged the inaugural IIFA Awards in London in 2000, when Bollywood hit Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam ( Straight from the Heart) scooped best picture, best director (Sanjay Leela Bhansali) and best actress in a leading role (Aishwarya Rai).
That star-soaked show (Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie, Kylie Minogue, Miranda Richardson and Talvin Singh were guests) rocked the Millennium Dome, its success and star turnout another sign of the growing global appeal of Indian cinema.
For years studios worldwide have tuned into the Indian film industry... and for good reason. There's money to be made in those Bollywood hills - and lots of it. A 2012 report by Ernst & Young estimates that the Indian movie industry is worth more than US$2 billion a year.