'Dabangg' wins best screenplay, has four awards in early going at IIFA

The hit Bollywood film took three of four major awards in the all-critical music category, winning for best Playback Singer Female, best Playback Singer Male and best Music Director.

Bollywood films wouldn't be the spectacle they are without their music and songs. Sometimes a movie's success depends on its music – and if that is any indication of where the night's awards are going, Dabangg is leading the pack.

The blockbuster film, which set box-office records in India, added to its total later in the ceremony when it won the award for best screenplay.

The other music category award, for best lyrics, went to the film My Name is Khan for the song Sajdaa.

My Name is Khan, a melodrama starring Shahrukh Khan about Muslims facing backlash after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, later won the award for Best Story. The award for best dialogue went to the thriller Ishqiya.

Bollywood fever has been raging at an all-time high in Toronto ever since the IIFA awards landed in town this week. Stars shone bright on the green carpet before the awards show and were greeted by shrieking fans of predominantly South-Asian origin.

"My god, they are excited," said director Karan Johar, who is up for best director for My Name is Khan. "I think if we expect IIFA to grow our non-South-Asian base, then the answer is no."

But Johar said he believes IIFA raises the profile of Bollywood globally and could lead to exciting opportunities for film production abroad.

The awards gala itself – which started nearly 90 minutes late – promised to be a grand music-and-dance spectacle, with hosts Boman Irani and Ritesh Deshmukh also doing comedy gags.

The entire stadium erupted with screams when megastar Shahrukh Khan took to the stage to kid around with the hosts in a witty back-and-forth.

Awards in 15 categories are up for grabs, with the gangster film Once Upon a Time in Mumbai leading the pack with an impressive 12 nominations. Closely following suit with 11 nominations is Dabangg, a Bollywood action flick starring bad boy Salman Khan.

"I certainly hope we'll sweep all the awards," said producer Arbaaz Khan. His wife, Mallika Arora Khan, already picked up the best choreography award for her gyrating dance number in the film.

Other major contenders include the rom-com Band Baaja Baaraat, the meldodrama My Name is Khan and the political thriller Raajneeti.

Some 22,000 fans bought tickets – which sold out within 10 minutes – for the star-studded awards ceremony live at Rogers Centre, and the IIFA awards are expected to have a worldwide viewership of 700-million.

In one moving moment during the ceremony, veteran actor Dharmendra Singh Deol – of the cult classic Sholay – was presented with a lifetime achievement award for his 50 years of acting in Bollywood.

Deol, a Punjabi, saluted Canada's multicultural community.

"I know Punjabis from India and Punjabis from Pakistan, but both have found a new home in Canada," he said in Punjabi, referring to years of bitter feuding between India and Pakistan.

Sharmila Tagore, who has won several Indian National Film Awards, was also presented an award for outstanding achievement.

As per tradition, the show's first number was produced by the host country. The Ontario government's three-minute mix of video and live performance showcased the province's diversity with two Asian dragon dancers, bag pipers and South Asian costumes.

Bollywood-style performances included a high-energy dance number that revolved around model-turned-film actress Kanagan Ranaut and a song-and-dance number from heartthrob Bobby Deol, who arrived in a car that was driven onstage. He was later joined onstage by brother Sunny and their legendary father Dharmendra.