Bollywood fever grips Toronto as stars land for IIFA show

Frenzied scenes were witnessed at Toronto`s International Airport Tuesday when Bollywood stars started descending here for the IIFA Awards.

Toronto: Frenzied scenes were witnessed at Toronto`s Pearson International Airport Tuesday when Bollywood stars started descending here for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards on June 25.

Crowds of admirers went wild when Anil Kapoor, Dia Mirza, Zayed Khan, Bobby Deol and Arshad Warsi stepped out of the airport terminal. Wearing a spiked-up hairstyle and dark glasses, Anil Kapoor said, "I am just going to have a good time. I am looking forward to every moment.`` The Slumdog Millionaire actor, who was here in January with Preity Zinta to formally announce the hosting of IIFA Awards in Toronto, said the Bollywood show would spell "happiness, colour and a lot of fun`` for audiences. Dia Mirza, who will perform at the awards ceremony, said she felt excited "to know there`s such a large community here that loves Indian cinema.`` There was noisy welcome also for Bobby Deol who will perform with father Dharmendra and brother Sunny at the awards. Mobbed by autograph-seeking fans, Bobby said he was excited but "more nervous`` about his performance at the mega-show. Zayed Khan told the screaming crowd that he couldn`t wait to " explore`` as he left the airport for the city. Arshad Warsi and Sonu Sood were quickly whisked away by IIFA organizers in waiting vehicles. In keeping with the IIFA aim of promoting awareness about global warming, Bollywood stars were accorded a green-carpet welcome at the airport. As all 17,000 tickets for the Awards finale sold in minutes, organizers have warned fans about fake tickets being sold for the sold-out event. With reports of fans trying to buy tickets from sellers through Craiglist and Kijiji websites, IIFA spokesperson Noreen Khan said the organizers would honour only those "tickets that are sold through them and the original type, and so we would hope that anyone who obtains tickets in any other manner is just very vigilant about knowing the source of them and what they are and where they`re coming from.`` IANS