MyLaTrobe sent chief Shah Rukh Khan correspondent Astril Andrades to the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne awards night – to see one one of La Trobe University’s cultural partners in action.
I’ve grown up watching Bollywood films and celebrities, so I was really excited when I got the opportunity to attend the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne’s (IFFM) awards night last week.
I had never imagined that I would get the chance to be so close to my childhood hero the superstar and King of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan (SRK).
The IFFM awards night took place at Melbourne’s iconic Palais Theatre in St Kilda. IFFM is celebrating its tenth year with the central theme, “Courage.”
It was also a really exciting few days for me personally, as a student from India, when I arrived at La Trobe to study Media and Communications, I never thought I’d have an opportunity to walk on the same red carpet with Bollywood stars, meet Shah Rukh Khan twice, get a selfie with him and watch him perform live – it’s a dream come true.
After waiting for an hour in windy and cold Melbourne weather, SRK finally arrived around 8pm. Thus, began the dreamy awards night. I also watched other celebs like Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar, Tabu, Malaika Arora, Arjun Kapoor and Priya Serrao walk down the red carpet.
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra played songs from SRK’s Bollywood cinematic legacy which brought the crowd to their feet to dance. It made me reminisce aboutall of the scenes from my favourite SRK movies from the 90s movies.
Later, awards were given for the categories IFFM Best Short Film, Diversity, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Indie Film, Best Film, Excellence in Cinema Award and more.
La Trobe University’s Vice Chancellor John Dewar presented the IFFM Diversity award to Onir who is a director, producer and human rights activist.
SRK who was the chief guest at the festival was presented the IFFM Excellence in Cinema award by Hon Linda Dessau, Minister of Victoria, for his contribution to the Indian cinema.
In his speech following the award, he said that he shot a film in Melbourne 12 years ago, where he plays a man who has lost hope in life and picks on a team of girls who go on to win a world championship.
He added, “This city had the simplicity I had seen nowhere else.”
“It’s not the awards you get, it’s just the part of creating a process that is an exhilarating experience for an artist.”
I think IFFM is a great way to connect with people away from home to celebrate the culture, traditions and films which resonate with theirs. It was an epic night to see Bollywood come to Melbourne.
It was also a really exciting few days for me personally as a La Trobe student from India, when I arrived at La Trobe to study Media and Communications, I never thought I’d have an opportunity to walk on the same red carpet with Bollywood stars, meet Shah Rukh Khan twice and get a selfie with him and watch him perform live – it’s a dream come true.