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Videocon will sponsor the IIFA Weekend, while Micromax will sponsor the IIFA Awards for the second time. Rotomac Pens is the Associate Sponsor of the IIFA Weekend 2011, while Air India will partner with IIFA as the Official Airlines Partner. The IIFA Awards ceremony is among the most-watched global events, annually.

The nominees for the IIFA 2011 nominations were announced today with film favourites, Dabangg, Rajneeti, My Name Is Khan, Band Baaja Baaraat and Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai being nominated in the Best Film category. The Leading Role Male category include Salman Khan (Dabangg), Hrithik Roshan (Guzaarish), Ranbir Kapoor (Rajneeti), Ajay Devgn (Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai) and Shahrukh Khan (My Name Is Khan), while leading ladies, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Guzaarish), Katrina Kaif(Rajneeti), Anushka Sharma (Band Baaja Baaraat), Vidya Balan (Ishqiya) and Kareena Kapoor (Golmaal 3) are up for the Lead Female Role honour.

Like the 2011 Filmfare awards, there is a battle between the Khans, namely Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan, both in the best actor and the best film category. Dabangg was one of the biggest Bollywood films of 2010 so it would be surprising if it does not pick up an IIFA. However, a Bollywood tale about gangsters in Mumbai’s underworld, Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai, has a leading 12 nominations for awards including best film, direction, leading actor, story, lyrics, screenplay and dialogue.

The IIFA Weekend, in Toronto will be a selection of mega events that spotlights global attention on Indian cinema. It will include the high-profile IIFA World Premiere; the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum; IIFA Rocks; the first look of a number of Indian films; the IIFA Film Workshop and naturally the spectacular Micromax IIFA Awards.

The nominees for the awards were announced at a special IIFA Media Conference in Mumbai on 1st April 2011. Amongst the Bollywood stars attending were Hrithik Roshan, Anil Kapoor, Boman Irani and Dia Mirza. Longtime IIFA supporter, Bollywood hunk, Hrithik Roshan addressed the media saying: “As always it is a great honour for me to come to IIFA and join in the revelry with the rest of the fraternity. Having witnessed so many IIFA’s, I see IIFA Toronto as a landmark for the Wizcraft team and our fraternity, confirming the reach of Indian Cinema, and I could not be more thrilled to represent this great industry and meet the fans in Canada. Let the celebrations begin.”