Aiba behind-the-scenes: Parineeti is 'Dubai resident'; Varun's 8-pack

Delayed by several hours, the press meet for the first Arab Indo Bollywood Awards or Aiba was described by its host as an event that works on IST or Indian Standard Time.

The curtain raiser was staged on the eve of the awards night, to be held on May 29 at the Meydan Racecourse. Yet, it appeared when you threw Bollywood into the mix, time and space danced away to form its own continuum that few could comprehend.

With the buzz surrounding the event reaching fever pitch with fans, the celebrities taking their turn in the spotlight, confessed feelings of awe, laced with frazzled nerves ahead of their stage acts.

Speaking about her performance, actress Parineeti Chopra stated: “I am performing out the Best Film nominations at Aiba. I am excited as it’s the biggest award of the night and I am performing ensembles that are not mine.

“But I don’t know if I will be successful. I am very nervous.”

Quizzed whether there was a chance to see her share a stage with cousin Priyanka Chopra, who is also performing at Aiba, the younger Chopra said: “It’s a good idea, but it won’t happen this time. I will hardly meet her so performing together is out of the question.”

Chopra, who has also been nominated in the Best Actress category at Aiba for ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’ spoke about her love for the emirate, saying: “I feel like I am a Dubai resident. I come to this place every month My best friend lives here. Dubai is like my home.

“When you perform at places that are dear to you, it is very special. Dubai is almost like Mumbai. People love Bollywood, people love films. So performing here will really be exhilarating. People will know the songs, dance with us.”

Varun Dhawan, who is also performing on the night, along with showcasing his film ‘ABCD 2’ at Aiba, stated it was a privilege to perform at this inaugural event.

He said: “Honestly, this is the first time these awards are happening, so it’s a privilege and an honour to be here. The act designed by Shaimak [Davar] Sir is something that I have never done before.

“It is a mix of contemporary and hip hop. You can expect some dare devil hardcore stuff that will go down; and for the first time I will be performing to a song from ‘ABCD 2’ live on stage.”

Quizzed whether he would get a chance to show off his eight-pack abs for the act, Dhawan continued: “I don’t know how much exposure is allowed really.

“I will be performing a couple of things, one is ‘Jeena Jeena’ from ‘Badlapur’, which did really well in the UAE. Atif Aslam had sung that song.

“I will then go into ‘Palat’ and ‘Jee Karda’ and then ‘Bezubaan’. There are some high risk moves. My entry will be in a vehicle, which will be riding at very fast speed. Within what the law permits of course. I just hope I don’t bang the car. It seems expensive.”

The actor is expected to enter in a Bugatti Veyron.

Neha Dhupia, who will be hosting the golden carpet stated she planned on getting “extremely up close and personal with the stars in a chatty manner.”

She continued: “I know most of the people. So I can bring something more.”

Dhupia, whose impression of Dubai bore a close resemble to Aladdin and the world of 1001 Arabian Nights, stated further: “I don’t want run of the mill questions such as what their shooting experiences have been like, and what’s it like to be in Dubai. We want to have a little bit of fun.

“So we will be using a lot of props related to Dubai, such as a genie, a magic lamp, flying carpet, dates. We will catch them off guard.”

That may not be limited to the celebrities alone.

Speaking further on her gold carpet tips, she added: “Most of the stars are not supposed to know I am judging them. All the actors and actresses are really well turned out these days. Fashion is such a big part of film and people take red carpet very seriously.”

Her Dubai red carpet tip is: “It’s summer so don’t cover up too much, but it’s Dubai so you must cover up too much.”

Shraddha Kapoor, who appeared later to promote ‘ABCD 2’ said it was daunting to come to Dubai to showcase a film of such calibre.

She said: “Dubai has always extended a warm welcome to our films. But what we are presenting with this 3D dance film is something very different, but unique. To bring it at Aiba is even more prestigious. I am just nervous that it will be accepted by everyone here.”

Jury head, actor and National Awardwinning filmmaker, Tigmanshu Dhulia, spoke about the Aiba voting and awarding process, saying: “The Aiba process has been transparent. We stuck to the rules, 50 per cent audience voting and 50 per cent jury members.

“Many awards that will be handed out are quite obvious. We eventually arrived at consensus. The first one had to be correct and what you will see are well deserving winners.”

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