THE INTERNATIONAL INDIAN FILM ACADEMY (IIFA) ANNOUNCES THE 2ND EDITION OF ‘IIFA UTSAVAM’
The Biggest Celebration Of South Indian Cinema To Be Held On 28th & 29th March!
IIFA Utsavam Awards Hosts Announced
Chennai: The countdown to South India’s biggest, most extravagant and much awaited celebration has begun. The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) announced the 2nd edition of the highly anticipated celebrations of the biggest Utsavam, Fortune Sunflower Oil IIFA Utsavam Powered by Renault marking a landmark event in the illustrious history of the Cinema of South India. A magnificent extravaganza envisioned to honor and recognize the best of South India’s film industry, IIFA Utsavam Weekend and Awards is back with an exuberance spanning across two days on the 28th & 29th of March, 2017 at HlCC in Hyderabad.
IIFA Utsavam 2017 celebrations will air exclusively on Broadcast Partners, Sun Network, while the Title Sponsor is Fortune Sunflower Oil, Powered by Renault. The Destination Partner is the Govt. of Telangana. Park Hyatt Hyderabad is the Luxury Partner while HICC is the Venue Partner. The Gifting Partner for IIFA Utsavam 2017 are Tiraa and Spa Ceylon. Mirrors is theHair and Makeup Partner. The Celebrations Partner is Kingfisher Premium and Virtual Vision is the Technical Partner.
Another facet to the 2nd Annual IIFA Utsavam Weekend and Awards is the launch of the IIFA Utsavam app that provides the users an insight to all the details of the Weekend and Awards in four film industries of South India.
South Indian Cinema film stars showed their support by voting for their favourite movies and talents at the IIFA Utsavam Voting Week which was held in Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Hyderabad. The 2nd edition of the annual IIFA Utsavam Weekend and Awards 2017 witnessed the highest votes with IIFA Utsavam’s Global Voting crossing over 15 lakhs.
Bringing together the biggest megastars from the South Indian Film Industry including Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Balakrishna, Ram Charan, Mahesh Babu, Shiva Rajkumar, Ravi Chandran, Yash, Tamannaah, Samantha, Anushka Rakul Preet, Radhika Pandit, Rachita Ram, Parul Yadav, Mohan Lal, Kunchacko Boban, Mamta Mohandas, Khushboo, Jiiva, Venkat Prabhu, Rana Daggubati, Nasser, Jayam Ravi, John Vijay among others will all congregate for one grand Utsavam, the IIFA Utsavam 2017.
Encompassing four massive film industries of South India, the Tamil, the Malayalam, the Telugu and the Kannada – The Cinema of South India is being celebrated as a single entity. Creating waves not only in our country, the Cinema of the South has also made a name for itself on the global movies map. The industry is known for its larger-than-life movies, flamboyant superstars, abundance of talent, technologically advanced productions and it’s loyal fan following.
Baahubali actor, Rana Daggubati along with renowned actor, Shiva will be hosting the Tamil segment in the upcoming 2nd edition of International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Utsavam. Rana Dagubatti will also be hosting the Telugusegment with Naveen Babu, better known as Nani. The Malyalam segment of IIFA Utsavam will be hosted by known actor Tini Tom and actress Pearle Maaney. The Kannada segment of the awards will be hosted by renowned actor Akul Balaji and actress Meghana Gaonkar.
IIFA Utsavam’s illustrious Advisory Board comprises of renowned personalities including, A R Rahman, Kamal Hassan, Suresh Babu, KS Rama Rao, Boney Kapoor, Nagarjuna, Allu Aravind, Resul Pookutty, R B Choudhary, Ram Kumar, Mukesh, Sibi Malayil, B Unnikrishnan, Ramesh Aravind and Radikaa Sharath Kumar.
Speaking on the occasion, Rana Daggubati said, “IIFA Utsavam is a unique endeavor that raises South Indian cinema to a global platform, allowing the immense talent of the South to be admired universally. I am excited to host the IIFA Utsavam 2017 in Hyderabad and share the stage with some of the most successful actors and technicians from our film industry. As we get set to honour their contributions to cinema, I invite you to join us to celebrate and applaud your favourite stars. I’m certain that IIFA Utsavam will surpass your expectations this year!”
Hansika Motwani says “IIFA Utsavam is a pioneering event that gives a universal platform of admiration to the talent from the four massive film industries of South India. It is great to see an endeavor such as IIFA Utsavam to help give our cinema maximum exposure to audiences and media around the world. I’m thrilled to be a part of this fantastic journey and look forward to this year’s celebrations.”
The 2nd Annual IIFA Utsavam Weekend and Awards will kick start with an Opening Press Conference.
Day 1 of the event will see IIFA Utsavam felicitating and celebrating talent from the Tamil & Malayalam film industries.
Day 2 will felicitate and celebrate the talent from the Telugu and Kannada film industries.
IIFA Utsavam Director, Andre Timmins said, “Our vision for IIFA Utsavam primarily has been to celebrate the excellence and dynamism of Indian cinema along with specially giving due credit and honor to the brilliance of the Cinema of South India. We at IIFA are thrilled to bring to the world the much awaited second edition of the South Indian film fraternity celebration – IIFA Utsavam.”
Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Angshu Mallick, COO, Adani Wilmar Ltd. Said, “Adani Wilmar Ltd.is one of India’s fastest growing food company with a turnover of more than 3.50 billion USD. Fortune – India’s No 1 edible oil brand, is proud to associate and present IIFA, the International Indian Film Academy into South Indian cinema beginning from 2015. Proud to be called as IIFA Utsavam, we have chosen Fortune Sunflower Oil, one of our most prominent brands in the South Indian market which is also acclaimed to be “very very Light “ Oil in the Sunflower Oil category to bring forth this partnership. With our wide Range of product portfolio of Edible oils, Basmati Rice, Pulses, Soya chunks & Besan, we look forward to being the preferred brand of every South Indian consumer by reaching out with an array of celebrity engagements as a result of our partnership with Utsavam. With the legacy of IIFA in the Indian entertainment space, we proudly look forward to the best entertainment extravaganza the South of India is going to witness.”
Sumit Sawhney, Country CEO and Managing Director, Renault India Operations said, “Renault is one of the youngest and fastest growing brands in the Indian automotive industry, driven by our brand ideology, ‘Passion for life’ which is clearly reflected in our offerings and the platforms we partner with. Our association with the prestigious IIFA Utsavam, which honours the talent, excellence and dynamism of South Indian cinema, is in sync with Renault’s passion for celebrating life with elements of culture, entertainment, films, music, creativity and above all people.”
IIFA Utsavam Jury Member, Mr. P Vasu (Director) said, “IIFA Utsavam is truly an honorable initiative to celebrate the artistic achievements and bringing together the South Indian Film Industries on a unified platform. It recognizes and awards the industries best and exposes new talent. This year the industry comes together for the 2nd time and I can hardly contain my joy. Every actor and technician will be happy and proud to carry an IIFA Award, my Best Wishes to everyone.”
Mr. Thomas Abraham, General Manager, Park Hyatt Hyderabad said, “It’s an honour for Park Hyatt Hyderabad to be associated with IIFA awards this year. We are celebrating 5 years this year in the city of Nizams and we would like to thank partners like IIFA and patrons of the city without whom we would not have achieved the success and respect so far. The association with IIFA this year makes our celebrations even more special. We hope to continue bringing to the city events of such glitz and glamour and continue thriving to give service where luxury is personal.”
To select and felicitate the best and most deserving talent, nominees were selected through film industry voting. A Global voting process would then determine the winners of the Popular Awards and Jury Voting would determine the winners of the Technical Awards.
IIFA Utsavam 2017 promises to bring together exuberance of talent from among the South Indian film industry and applaud for the best of the best.
South Indian cinema fans and enthusiasts from around the world can expect to see their favorite film stars descend on Hyderabad during the weekend for the magnificent extravaganza envisioned to honor and showcase the best of South Indian cinema. A show like never witnessed before in the region.
