TOIFA 2013 - A Glitzy Affair by Sasha Tewari

It was a glitzy, glamorous, hungama filled night new to most Bollywood lovers who attended the inaugural TOIFA awards ceremony in Vancouver. 

From those who wanted an opportunity to see Bollywood Stars - TOIFA gave attendees a performance filled masti night they won't be forgetting for a while! According to 'Indian Standard Time' the show was right on point, but going off of the 'official' time, TOIFA started off an hour late. With Bollywood lovers squirming and shifting in their seats however, all was soon forgotten as Master of Ceremonies, Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma, officially opened TOIFA 2013. After a quick recap of the TOIFA festivities that had already taken place (namely the Musical Extravaganza and Technical Awards), attendees got a glimpse into the philosophy behind the TOIFA statue, and the concept behind the awards show.

The night quickly progressed to the first (and undoubtedly best) performance of the night - with Abhishek Bachchan entering the awards stadium on a dholak, weaving in and out through the audience. Cheers erupted and fans shot up from their seats at first sight of the film star, who was literally close enough for many to touch as he made his way to the stage. Accompanied by choreographer Shiamak Davar's dancers, Abhishek danced his way through some of his best hits, enticing KJo and SRK to sing along to Bunty aur Babli with him. Moving quickly through the show however, 'Ranushka' (Ranbir and Anushka) started the award presentations by calling singers, models, actors, and sponsors on stage to present the 15 awards lined up for the night.

As we moved through the night filled with smashing performances and witty repertoire between 'Ranushka'  and Boman Irani, a surprising reoccurrence brought up by various stars was how fast the show was moving along! A fact brought up first by Abhi (who tried his best to delay his 'Best Actor - comedic role' win speech with some jabber) and then Boman (who attempted to get just one person from the audience to answer a 'are you liking the show so far?" question) - was quite unexpected given that the show had started an hour late! However even though the night was moving ahead of schedule (reportedly!) it wasn't free of minor hiccups and awkward silences while the audience waited for the MCs to come back on stage. Performances by both Katrina Kaif & Priyanka Chopra played right to the heart of the audience as we danced along to hits like 'Chikni Chameli' and 'Mar Jawwan' while oohing and aahing to their beautiful costumes and enticing stage presence. But the kicker of the night definitely had to be seeing Aishwaya Rai Bachchan up on stage after an approximate 2 year public performance hiatus, bringing to life classics from 'Taal' and 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'. From her sultry black get-up to the coy performance, Aishwarya  once again showed us why she is known as the most beautiful woman in the
world.

Of course, the night could not end without sight of Mr. Shah Rukh Khan himself, who brought about the finale of TOIFA by rocking to some of his biggest hits. TOIFA 2013 did B'wood honours in its presentation of performance acts mixed amidst awards presentation, literally bringing the larger than life industry to our doorstep.The awards show was filled with dhamaka, hungama, aur bahut sari masti, and sent all attendees home with a reminder that our love for Bollywood is very well warranted!
                                                                     -Sasha Tewari, StarBuzz Vancouver

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