Bollywood in Dubai: An all new award show next month!

Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra will lead a total of 150 Bollywood celebrities from India to the shores of Dubai for an all new award show. The AIBA awards (Arab Indo Bollywood Awards) will kick off on 9th April in typical Bollywood fashion. This will be the first award show of its kind and will feature, what is being called as ‘honest’ awards. The April 9 event will take place at the Meydan Racecourse and will be co-hosted by the famous Karan Johar. The famous director, producer and now actor will host the show with television star Manesh Paul.

Veteran director and producer Karan Johar will co-host the AIBA awards.

Other string of celebrities whose names have been announced by organizers are Jacqueline Fernandez, Varun Dhawan and Neha Dhupia. The inclusion of the sensational singer Kanika Kapoor has indicated the night will be ablaze with catchy jingles, the likes of Chittiyan Kallaiyaan, Baby Doll or Lovely. All of these artists are slated to perform on the night, as well as the powerful trio of Salman, Priyanka and Parineeti.

Jacqueline Fernandez is also one of the stars who will perform at the event.

AIBA jury chairperson Dhulia said: “The idea was to create a collaboration between Arab and Indian audiences, which has historically shared a common love for cinema, but most importantly, it was also imperative that as filmmakers, we had an awards platform that did away with the politicking of trophies to allow the emergence of small-budget but good quality cinema.” He also went into great deal as regards the film selected and how the winner will be picked. “The 25 trophies will be split across the categories of Main, Technical and Special Awards, which will be chosen 50 per cent by the jury members, while the remaining half will be voted by residents of the UAE, either online or via 100 ballot boxes that will be placed around the country.”

For all those in Dubai, hurry up as voting has already begun in 100 UAE Exchange outlets. Tickets for the awards are priced at hefty amounts such as Dh300, Dh500, Dh800, Dh1,500 and Dh5,000 for sitting in the Star Enclave.

Following are the nominations for each category:-

Best Actor

Shahid Kapoor – Haider

Salman Khan – Kick

Aamir Khan – PK

Varun Dhawan – Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania

Sanjay Mishra – Ankhon Dekhi

Best Film

Haider

Queen

Ankhon Dekhi

Two States

Filmistan

Best Actress

Kangana Ranaut – Queen

Priyanka Chopra – Mary Kom

Parineeti Chopra – Hasee Toh Phasee

Deepika Padukone – Finding Fanny

Alia Bhatt – 2 States

Best Director

Rajat Kapoor – Ankhon Dekhi

Rajkumar Hirani – PK

Vikas Bahl – Queen

Vishal Bharadwaj – Haider

Abhishek Verman – 2 States

Best Story

Vikas Bhal, Chaitallya Parmar, Parvez Sheikh – Queen

Chetan Bhagat – 2 States

Abhijit Joshi and Rajkumar Hirani – PK

Rajat Kapoor – Ankhon Dekhi

Rajkumar Singh, Chandraprakash Nivedi – Zed Plus

Harshwardhan – Hasee Toh Phasee

Best Dialogue

Queen

Kick

Haider

4 Sahabzaade

Best Screenplay

Haider

Holiday

2 States

Filmistan

Ankhhon Dekhi

Hasee Toh Phasee