Bollywood invaded Canada and boy, what an experience it was!

Me and the ATN crew flew to Vancouver to cover every part of the inaugural Times of India Film Awards (TOIFAs). Most of Mumbai seemed to be in town, with celeb spotting of Hard Kaur, Aditi Rao Hydari, Boman Irani, Prabhu Deva, Harman Baweja, Zarine Khan, Mugdha Godse, Sonal Chauhan, etc etc. So many stars were in town and we got all their interviews!

Thursday night was the TOIFA musical concert that featured some of Bollywood’s greatest singers including Sunidhi Chauhan (Band Bajaa Baaraat, Dhoom), Shalmali Kholgade (Ishaqzaade, Cocktail, Race 2), Mohit
Chauhan (Rockstar, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, Barfi!) and Hard Kaur (Singh is Kinng, Kismet Konnection). Hosted by the gorgeous and funny Neha Dhupia. She looked amazing and I was reminded how great her comic timing is. Playing the game ‘Kaun Banega Neha Dhupia Ka Pati’ Dhupia had the crowd laughing as she made four male audience members participate
in a dance off to see who would win and become her husband (note, none made the cut even though my vote was on the adorable short contestant who was so so nervous.)

Friday was a day full of exclusive one on one interviews with the stars at the hotel before heading over to the convention centre to cover the red carpet for the TOIFA Technical awards. This was also the night fashion designer guru Manish Malhotra paid tribute to 100 years of Indian cinema through a beautifully directed fashion show featuring some of Bollywood’s favorite leading ladies as models. I got an exclusive interview with the designer who was so charming in person (and he has an amazing jawline!)

Of course, Saturday was the big awards night and I covered the red carpet star arrivals. Even though it poured the entire day, the cold and the rain didn’t stop tons of fans from waiting for hours for their favorite stars to arrive. I chatted with the stars as they made their big entrance including a few stars who I hadn’t chatted with yet. Let’s see, I spoke with Priyanka, Anushka, Nargis, Zarine, Raveena Tandon….and a personal favorite, Ranbir Kapoor!

I’ve been asked by many people who was the single most thrilling celebrity encounter. Well, the number one person I wanted to interview was Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. I’ve been a fan for years and to be, she embodies the total package. She’s balanced between her Indian roots and a western appeal, she’s classy and elegant, talented, and most importantly, she is such a family person. When I finally got to interview her on the red carpet, you could tell marriage and motherhood is so important to her. I loved seeing how close her and Abhishek Bachchan were. In fact, many times Abhi would just stand behind her and beam with pride. They are a wonderful couple together and it’s so nice to feel the mutual love and respect they have for each other. Aishwarya just lit up when I asked her about her daughter and about becoming a mother (and yes the Bachchans did bring little Aaradhya Bachchan to Vancouver).

After the red carpet, the show kicked off and I thought it was fantastic. Ranbir and Anushka were hilarious as hosts and the performances rocked. Priyanka and Katrina sizzled like always, Shahrukh Khan had his usual “King of Bollywood” dance performances, but all eyes were on Aishwarya as she performed for the first time on an international stage since becoming a mother. She performed to a medley of songs of her hits. Was it her best performance ever? No. I’ve read some harsh reviews on her performance but I think some people are being too hard on her. Since becoming a mother, it’s refreshing to see a celebrity not worry about losing all the pregnancy weight or rushing back into being their old selves. Aishwarya has definitely changed since getting married and having a baby and that’s how it should be! I think this was a great “comeback” performance for her. Maybe she didn’t shake and stir like her younger counterparts but Aishwarya has never been like that. She’s always been a more classical Indian dancer and I think it’s absolutely fantastic to see her back on stage.

A touching moment from the awards show was when Priyanka Chopra won for Best Actress for her role in Barfi. The actress hugged her mother and then took her father up to the stage to accompany her as she accepted her award. Priyanka’s father was not well and needed assistance from her and Ranbir to make it up to the stage. It was such a beautiful sight to see how important it was for Priyanka to patiently walk her father up to the stage so he could be by her side as she thanked her parents for coming down to see her. Then her father jumped in and thanked his daughter’s fans for all of their love and support and spoke of how proud he was of Priyanka, Definitely a teary moment. It’s nice to see Priyanka not as an actress and celebrity but as just a daughter who is the apple of her father’s eye.

And then Shiamak Davar closed the show with some Bollywood dance tracks, bringing out several celebrities one last time before it was all done! After chasing down the stars for interviews and covering every since TOIFA event, it’s bittersweet to see it all end. But what a trip! I have to say that Vancouver was such an amazing host city. I met so many locals who were just so lovely to me and the ATN crew. To everyone we met along the way in our journey, thanks for coming up to us to chat, to make us laugh, and to even help us out when we needed it!

Catch all of the TOIFA coverage on ATN!

Bollywood Fashion Guru Manish Malhotra

Chatting with singer Abbas Hasan