Bollywood refuses south India's demand

Even as the Sri Lankan government is taking all efforts to make the India International film Academy (IIFA) awards a big success, the south Indian film industry on Tuesday reiterated its decision to boycott the event to be held in the island nation.

Meanwhile, leading Hindi film actors Vivek Oberoi, Boman Irani, Lara Dutta and Ritesh Deshmukh reached Sri Lanka on Tuesday to participate in the IIFA events. Tourism Board officials were quoted as saying that some more leading Hindi film actors and music artistes are to arrive on Wednesday and Thursday, along with hundreds of Indian tourists.

At a meeting convened by the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC) in Chennai on Tuesday, secretary of the chamber L Suresh said representatives from SIFCC and Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) urged the IIFA to suspend its plans to hold the event in Sri Lanka but IIFA office-bearers expressed their inability to do so at the last minute.

Urging Bollywood actors, filmmakers and technicians not to attend the event, Suresh said, “We expect the Bollywood film industry to respect the sentiments of Tamils and refrain from participating in the event.”

It may be recalled that associations such as SIFCC, FEFSI, Tamil Nadu Theatre-Owners Association and Tamil Nadu Producers' Council have decided to boycott films of Bollywood actors, technicians and filmmakers who would participate in the IIFA awards function