The Annual IIFA Pilgrimage

It's that time of the year again... new destination to take the legacy and splendour of our hindi films.   And this time it's the United States of America...

IIFA has a new address every year and it's a date that I have been keeping for the last 12 years... From South Africa to Amsterdam, from Singapore to Toronto, I have made this event my very own.

As you can see, my room is in a mess...clothes strewn around... suitcase ready to be packed. Clothes are never an issue here... a more important issue is at stake... Food.

I am the Producer of the Weekend Stories for IIFA. And we have to shoot features on lifestyle, discovering the best tourist places, the best eateries...all with our Bollywood celebs. Some of my high points have been cycling with Mr Bachchan in Amsterdam, being garlanded by Salman Khan In Colombo, a plane ride with the likes of Rani Mukherjee, Shilpa Shetty and Fardeen Khan in Johannesburg... the thrill is unprecedented as the actors are in their most comfortable space.

But the hiccup is eating on time. So my backpack always has

the favourite Indian savouries like bhujia, cheese balls, namkeens and my favourite orange cream biscuits. For the back up dinner, it's the famous cup a noodles. You just need hot water, the rest is all in that cup.

I also have a honeymoon partner, Poonam. We have been sharing our room for the last 5 years. The 5 days that we spend together is precious because we only meet in bed, to rest our aching back and tired feet... all day long we are out hunting for celebs...no naughty ideas here...)))

And the two IIFA regulars, who make sure I get to see the best of everything a city has to offer, Gurpreet and Tina... Love you both...

I have made many friends too... Jack, the chauffeur from Toronto, who fed me prawn dumplings, my Pakistani guide in Dubai, who would get me mutton biryani, Premadasa from Colombo, who sneaked me out for a delightful  hour of ayurvedic massage... 

This year is special as my hubby will be accompanying me to Florida and post IIFA, a great vacation is on the cards.... Thank you Wizcraft and the three men who pull off this incredible awards show every year... Sabas Joseph, Andre Timmins and Viraf Sarkari...