India’s biggest Bollywood stars led a triumphant celebration of dance, music and fashion at the International Indian Film Academy awards Saturday, cheered by thousands of ecstatic fans just outside New York.
The five-hour show at an American football stadium in New Jersey, where the glittering Manhattan skyline was visible from the parking lot, was a riot of color, glitz and stunning dance routines.
Best picture went to Neerja, a thriller based on the true story of a purser who helped save the lives of more than 350 passengers when Libyan-backed hijackers stormed Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi in 1986.
The hijackers killed the purser and she posthumously became the youngest person to receive India’s highest civilian award for bravery. Udta Punjab, a gritty crime drama spotlighting the huge problem of drug abuse among young people in Punjab, scooped Shahid Kapoor best actor and Alia Bhatt best actress in a leading role.
The movie angered politicians in the state and the filmmakers took India’s censor board to court over a number of cuts it tried to make.
The culmination of a three-day celebration of Indian cinema, the 18th edition of the awards ceremony was held just outside New York at the American football MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, reports ANI.
