Some 200 of the most famous names from Bollywood, the Indian film industry, are expected to descend on Dubai for the upcoming Zee Cine Awards, to be held at Dubai Media City on February 26.
An estimated 300 million viewers around the globe are expected to watch the show which will bring Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan on stage together in Dubai for the first time.
It will also give Bollywood fans in the UAE and worldwide a chance to log on and vote for the best movie, actor, and for the 34 categories in the Zee Cine Awards 2004. Their votes will have a 75 per cent weightage in the selection which will be audited by an international firm.
The website, zeetvmiddleeast.com is presently being created and should be online within a week. Local voters can also participate through the Zee TV channel. The channel has about one million viewers in the GCC states, through the various cable platforms.
Dubbed as the most spectacular show Dubai will witness, the Zee Cine Awards will bring into the UAE 200 of some of the famous names in Indian film industry.
Organisers said Dubai, like Cannes, could become the Bollywood centre in the Middle East and hinted that talks are underway to make the emirate a "long time" venue.
Wishing 'namaste', Mohammed S. L. Almulla, senior partners relation manager, said the the Dubai Media City believes in promoting globally recognised events.
Manish Vashisht, vice president Zee Telefilms International, said the Indian film industry has now become a global phenomenon.
Yogesh Radhakrishnan, business head of Zee Cine Awards, gave a brief of the logistics nightmare organising such an event. "Can you imagine getting dates from these stars," he said.
"Post-Lagaan, Indian movies have grown tremendously and attract not only Asian audiences but international ones too," he said.
Lagaan is the Amir Khan starrer, which was nominated for an Oscar. Movies like Monsoon Wedding and Bend It Like Beckham have reached a far wider audience and there is now a cross-over between Hollywood and Bollywood.
The venue is likely to be the Airport expo.
Some of the big names to take part include Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Lara Dutta, Pakistani stage comedian and writer Omar Sharif and Shekhar Suman.
Gulf News
