The IIFA 2011 nominations were announced with film favourites – ‘Dabangg’, ‘Rajneeti’, ‘My Name is Khan’, ‘Band Baajaa Baraat’ and ‘Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai’.

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) will celebrate the 12th Videocon IIFA Weekend and the Micromax IIFA Awards in Toronto, Ontario, Canada this year. The three day Weekend will be held from June 23rd-25th, 2011.

Supporting the Weekend and Awards at the conference Longtime IIFA supporter, Indian Cinema super star, 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.”

After the success of the Micromax IIFA Awards in Colombo, Riteish Deshmukh and Boman Irani will once again play hosts at the Awards in Toronto. This will be Boman’s fifth time at the Awards, while good friend and fellow-actor Riteish will co-host for the fourth time. Talking of the 12th Awards and his hosting stint, Boman Irani said, “I am honoured to host the Awards for the fifth time this year. It is always wonderful to be a part of this larger than life event and hosting is an assignment that I look forward to each year.”

The nominations were released as a result of the industry voting for the Micromax IIFA Awards at the IIFA Voting Weekend 2011 held in March. Results of the industry voting were audited by PriceWaterhouse Coopers, the auditing firm for the IIFA’s and the Oscars. The online voting for the Awards will go live on the 15th of April, 2011 and will be open to audiences of Indian Cinema, across the world.

The Videocon IIFA Weekend, Toronto will be a selection of mega events that spotlights global attention on Indian cinema. The Weekend includes 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 the spectacular Micromax IIFA Awards.

The Videocon IIFA Weekend is the largest South Asian celebration event and the Micromax IIFA Awards is among the most-watched global events, annually.

“IIFA is pleased to celebrate its 12th year in Toronto and feels it is Indian Cinema’s gateway to North America. This year’s celebrations will have over 800 delegates from India, including the creme de la creme of Indian cinema and the international media. A third of the expatriate population in Toronto comprises South Asians and we intend to bring a taste of home and cinematic magic to them.” said Wiz Sabbas Joseph, Director - Wizcraft International Entertainment.

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.

Click here to see - Hrithik, Karan At IIFA Press Meet