the International Indian Film Academy awards in Toronto (insert joke about qI I F, eh?q)

In this admittedly unpolished post, Beth reflects on her trip to Toronto for the IIFAs last weekend. Lots of pictures, too! Listen here, subscribe to our feed, or find us on iTunes.before IIFA dayThe lobby of the Fairmont Royal York hotel where many of the press and small events were held and several stars stayed.This turned out to be my most successful celebrity-spotting location. Like this:I also saw Madhavan, Arshad Warsi (whom I am fated to encounter on the steps of fancy hotels, apparently), Javed Akhtar, and Zeenat Aman, plus Tommy Sandhu, Raj, and Pablo from the BBC Asian Network.Javed Akhtar and Vishal Bhardwaj at the IIFA music workshop. Squee!Composing a song live at IIFA music workshop: from left, Ehsaan Noorani, Javed Akhtar, Vishal Bhardwaj, Shankar Mahadevan, and Salim Merchant. Akhtar wrote a few lines and the musicians made up a song on the spot.awards night The green carpet outside the stadium about five hours before the start of the show.The stage.Sonu Sood wins best villain.Bipasha Basu's set.The set for "the sons of Punjab."If you squint, you might be able to make out Bobby in white just a step or two behind the front row in the center of the stage.Ranveer Singh wins best male debut and elicits mighty squeals.Neetu Singh and Rishi Kapoor present best couple, and Neetu looks like she's heard it all before.In fact, even I had heard this before. Rishi spouted the statistic about how many heroines have launched opposite him (23, I believe he said), the same one he trotted out at an interview I heard him do in London last year, and my reaction was also the same: "That means you were a hero too damn long!""What the what?" moments: Hillary Swank and Cuba Gooding Junior help present top awards. at the Toronto International Film Festival's Raj Kapoor retrospective red carpetVivan Bhatena aka the cricket-playing boyfriend from Chak De India.Raj's sons and the premiere of Ontario (as you do).I have no idea who this is but the people in front of me wanted her autograph.I was told the woman in white is Krishna Kapoor; in pink, Raj/Shammi/Shashi's sister Urmi?Javed Jaffrey! He was really nice.Best for last: Zeenat Aman and Neetu Singh.Other bloggers at the IIFAs: Totally Filmi, Dolce and Namak, Filmi Girl, Shell's Bollyworld, and Daniel at Bollyspice. And here's a lovely post with photos and quotes from the "Bollywood, Hollywood, and Beyond" panel discussion with Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Kabir Bedi, and Lisa Ray. Dolce and Namak also wrote it up here.

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