The Big Fallout with IIFA

The Big Fallout with IIFA • The Rs 27 crore Flop Master • Not in Seventh Heaven

Still smarting from the fact that the Bachchans ditched them last year, the promoters of the IIFA Awards seem to have decided they can do without the First Family hereon.

Amid protests from Tamilians asking Bollywood not to participate in the IIFA Awards that were held in Sri Lanka last year, the Bachchan family decided to skip the show. Though Abhishek and Aishwarya said they were previously committed to shooting an ad in Europe on those dates, it’s no secret that the family didn’t want to jeopardise the release of Raavan by angering their South Indian fans who were protesting against the show being held in Colombo following the spate of crimes committed against Tamilians in Sri Lanka. That’s also the reason Bachchan Sr, who has been an IIFA ambassador for a decade now, allegedly didn’t turn up for the show.

The absence of the Bachchans, however, was made up for by stars like Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt and others who attended and performed at the event.

IIFA will be held in Toronto this year, and Amitabh Bachchan tweeted earlier this week that he won’t be attending: ‘IIFA says my services are not required.’ Sabbas Joseph of Wizcraft, one of the chief promoters of IIFA, makes it clear the strain between them has to do with last year’s incident. “We aborted the concept of a brand ambassador last year after Mr Bachchan couldn’t participate in the IIFA weekend,” he says, in a statement. Blabbering on about the respect they have for the Bachchans, Joseph ends by saying, “Mr Bachchan’s reason for non-participation this year is best known to him. We will continue to pursue his participation.”

An industry source decodes the situation for us quite simply: IIFA reportedly stopped paying Bachchan a fee for his ambassador status which they dissolved after the no-show last year, and the star refuses to show up for free!

Unapologetic about the fact that his last three films alone have lost roughly Rs 70 crore for his producers, Akshay Kumar is continuing to demand Rs 27 crore as his acting fee for new projects. The producers of Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai approached him recently about taking the lead in a sequel they are planning, but did a double take reportedly when he asked for that whopping salary in the wake of his successive flops.

Guests who attended the star’s 10th wedding anniversary bash at the JW Marriott on Sunday say Akshay didn’t give off the vibe of an actor reeling under the pressure of his failures. With wife Twinkle Khanna on his arm, he warmly greeted friends Sunil and Manaa Shetty, Bobby and Tanya Deol, Aamir and Kiran Rao, Hrithik and Suzanne Roshan, Anil Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia D’souza, Aishwarya Rai and Jaya Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Farah Khan, Sajid Khan, and Nikhil Advani. A fireworks display kicked off the evening, followed by the screening of a special video, that Twinkle had put together, of footage and photographs of the couple down the years. Then the guests hit the dance floor.

One producer insists that the actor has generated much ill-will in the industry over the last few years: “When you can’t even ensure that your films will take a good opening, what business do you have to drain your producers dry?” He says the lavish party was like laughing in the face of people who’ve lost money on Akshay’s account.

The truth, however, is that no one’s holding a gun to producers’ heads. Till such time as there are mugs who’ll pay ridiculous sums, greedy stars will continue to demand the moon.

A certain well-built male actor who stars as one of seven leading men in a forthcoming thriller by one of the country’s leading filmmakers has been running down the film, claiming it’s going to hurt the leading lady’s career beyond repair. A little probing reveals it’s because he didn’t get along with the director. He discovered that he wasn’t even the original choice for the role. The director, it appears, had offered the part to the boyfriend of the film’s leading lady, who said he didn’t want to be part of an ensemble movie. Since the part didn’t require much in terms of performance, but needed a physically fit actor, the director didn’t take long to find a replacement.

The actor in question isn’t really counting on this film  because he realises his strength lies in breezy, frothy entertainers that require him to drop his shirt and flash his abs half a dozen times. He has two films of the kind lined up later in the year.

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Rajeev Masand

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