GIFA ceremony to be telecast on Sony on December 17

Mumbai, Dec 14 (UNI) The Global Indian Film Awards (GIFA) 2006 which was held in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month, will be telecast on Sony Entertainment Television on December 17 at 2000 hrs.

GIFA is the brainchild of Popcorn Entertainment, in which Bollywood actor Sunil Shetty is a partner.

The mega-event was attended by a galaxy of Bollywood personalities like Shah Rukh Khan, Asha Parekh, Shatrughan Sinha, Smita Thackeray, Hrithik Roshan, John Abraham, Salman Khan, Bipasha Basu, Aftab Shivdasani, Upen Patel and Esha Deol among others.

Besides the Bollywood gliterrati, the show was graced by the royal family of Malaysia, who also presented some of the main awards.

Several local celebrities and Malaysian government officials including the Malaysian deputy Prime Minister and his wife attended this grand event.

The glitz and the glamour of the evening was multiplied by the electrifying performances of Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Ameesha Patel and Katrina Kaif. The star performer was Salman Khan.

The evening saw an array of glamorous anchors like Arjun Rampal, Riya Sen, Minisha Lamba, Rohit Roy, Arbaaz Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, who also hosted a segment.

There was also a performance by the Malaysian Tourism Board aimed at wooing film makers to shoot their films in Malaysia.

A press release today said Sony Entertainment Television will also present a special curtain raiser of this 3-day mega extravaganza packed with several glamorous and fun-filled events.

One of the highlights of GIFA was the world premiere of Ravi Chopra's 'Baabul' starring Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini, along with heartthrobs Salman Khan, Rani Mukherji and John Abraham.

It is worth mentioning here that with 'Baabul', B R Films completes 50 years in film-making. Practically all the stars of the film industry made it a point to attend the mega premiere.

There was also a football match by Bollywood heroes against a team of Malaysian government officials.

Provogue, the leading fashion clothesline, with fashion designer Vikram Phadnis hosted a fashion show followed by a charity dinner.

Sony Entertainment will take the viewers through these events in a curtainraiser tomorrow and the dayafter at 2300 hrs.

UNI MR WD LS HT1755