Programme unveiled for Bollywood extravaganza

From the archive, first published Wednesday 28th Mar 2007.

A dance and music extravaganza in Centenary Square, an Indian bazaar on the city's streets and a ceremony celebrating local Asian success stories will be creating a buzz when the 'Bollywood Oscars' roll into Bradford.

Bradford is set for an Indian summer when it plays host to the International Indian Film Academy Awards in June - and now it has been announced that part of the Academy's first fringe festival will be held here too.

With IIFA events televised worldwide, the festival will raise Bradford's profile among a global audience of 500 million.

The highlight, scheduled for June 8 and 9, is a dance show called Bollywood Steps performed in front of City Hall. It draws on Bollywood elements such as elaborate song and dance routines, a 'wet sari scene', a kaleidoscope of 140 costume changes and a glamorous wedding scene.

Described as a "glorious and irreverent celebration of Bollywood films", it fuses folk, classical, Bhangra, hip hop, jazz, salsa, flamenco and contemporary dance with dazzling light and water features and pyrotechnics.

Bradford city centre will be alive with the sights, smells and tastes of South Asia at the Bollywood Bazaar, with stalls offering an array of Asian foods, fashions, jewellery, accessories and textiles coupled with a programme of street entertainment.

Also running is a play called The Problem with Asian men at the Alhambra studio. Created entirely from interviews, it's described as a "revealing and hilarious verbatim show lifting the lid on Asian men".

And at the Hilton hotel there's a charity dinner called Celebrating Asian Success, marking the achievements of Asian people in business, sport, politics, media and community work. The event is being organised by Asians Connect to celebrate the success stories of British Asians who have successfully integrated into multi-cultural Britain.

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards, known as the 'Bollywood Oscars', are being held across Yorkshire at cities including Bradford. The highlight will be the film awards, taking place in Sheffield.

Stars including Bollywood queen Mahima Choundhary, who has appeared in movies such as Bride and Prejudice, are expected to attend.

Other fringe festival events will include Bollywood Jane - a play about a Bradford girl who escapes her family problems at her local cinema - at West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Auditions were recently held at the Alhambra Studio for dancers to perform in a dance sequence in the production.

In Sheffield there's Bollywood in the Basin featuring world music and multi-cultural arts and in York there's a mini mela, the York Indian Film Festival and the Bollywood Baja Band, one of Europe's first Indian brass bands, playing everything from Bhangra to jazz.

The Yorkshire bid for the IIFA Yorkshire Weekend, running from June 6-10, was undertaken by Yorkshire Tourist Board, with the support of Yorkshire Forward. The event is expected to bring 28,000 visitors to the region, generating £10 million from tourism.

Yorkshire Tourist Board chief executive David Andrews said: "The support from local communities for the IIFA Yorkshire Weekend has been overwhelming, there is a real buzz of excitement across the region. It's exactly this kind of atmosphere that generates a great visitor experience by adding an extra dimension to the traditional Yorkshire product and giving it a sense of cultural diversity."

Yorkshire Forward board member Arshad Javed added: "The purpose of bringing IIFA to the region was to create an excitement that would raise Yorkshire's profile on the global stage, attracting new visitors and businesses. The fringe will showcase all that is great about our region and its communities and I'm sure it will leave a lasting impression on the minds of all who attend."