Lanka banking on IIFA for image makeover
Recovering from the scars left by its long ethnic conflict, Sri Lanka is making the most of the three-day International Indian Film Academy awards-2010 that began in Colombo on Thursday.
The star-studded event began with a fashion show as models and stars walked the ramp at the Sirimavo Bandaranayake Arena in Colombo in the IIFA Foundation Extravaganza which kick-started the film carnival.
The fashion designers whose creations were shown included India’s Manish Malhotra and Vikram Phadnis and Sri Lankan designers Yoland and Kanchana. Actors Vivek Oberoi and Diya Mirza hosted the fashion night that had bureaucrats, politicians, industrialists and actors from both the countries in attendance.
Sri Lanka, which for decades has been identified with bloodshed and war, is leaving no stone unturned to register an image makeover and invite investment into the country. And it is banking on Bollywood star power to set the ball rolling. The capital, Colombo, has been illuminated for the IIFA and traffic is often held up not just for celebrities and politicians but for industrialists and even media persons from India.
Government officials claim that the glitzy film carnival will attract other high profile events and project Sri Lanka as a tourism destination once again. “There is the dawn of a new era in our island. There is great scope for investments in agriculture and tourism. This film carnival will help draw the attention of prospective investors and develop mutual co-operation,” said Lakshman Abeyawardana, Sri Lanka’s deputy minister for economic development. “It is a special opportunity that will allow us to showcase our potential,” the minister added.
The combination of film stars and cricketers is a potent one, and so a cricket match has been organised between Bollywood stars and Sri Lankan cricketers at the SSC grounds in the city on Friday.
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