IIFA 2004– Uniquely IIFA, Uniquely Singapore

The journey continues. Indian Cinema lands in the roaring city of Uniquely Singapore – a destination as colourful and warm as Indian Cinema itself. The global celebration of Indian Cinema reached yet another highpoint amidst the three day festivities. A contingent of over 450 stars, celebrities, cricketers, industrialists and government leaders were present at the 3-day weekend.

In 2004, Singapore experienced the glittering World Premiere of Mani Ratnam’s ‘Yuva’, in Hindi and ‘Aayitha Ezhuthu’ in Tamil. Giving the world a taste of true Indian Cinema – regional, and at the same time, global. Mani Ratnam and the star cast walked the Red Carpet at the Lido Cineplex, as thousands of fans applauded. Ajay Devgan, Rani Mukherjee, Vivek Oberoi, Kareena Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Esha Deol, Madhavan and Siddharth were given a standing ovation.

The IIFA Forum in 2004 drew a full house. Hosted in partnership with the Media Development Authority, Singapore, the focus was on ‘Globalisation of Indian Cinema’ and ‘Co-Production between India and Singapore’. Eminent personalities from Indian and Asian cinema like Karan Johar, Daniel Yun, Shravan Shroff, Shekhar Kapur and Showbhik Kalra participated in the discussion moderated by Vir Sanghvi. The thrust for the future could be understood in this quote from Shekhar Kapur – “Soon you will remove the mask off the face of Spiderman, and you will find that it is Asian. He could be Indian, Chinese or Singaporean.”

As the day dawned on 22nd May, the anticipation for the 5th IIFA Awards filled the air. The Singapore Indoor Stadium was taken over by stars. And fans waiting to catch a glimpse of their heroes. With the theme for the evening set as ‘Celebrating the Superstars of Indian Cinema’, the performances were a tribute to the greats of Indian Cinema, past and present. As the world witnessed the beaming awardees walk away with top honours, Indian Cinema shone at its brightest.

As the stars filled up the firmament, as the stage sizzled with excitement, Singapore went into a frenzy. With memories etched firmly in everyone’s minds, the evening drew to a close.