Popular film star and parliamentarian Malini Fonseka had not attended the IIFA awards following a Presidential request, sources from Temple Trees said.
The President had told Malini there was no necessity for her to attend the ceremony as he too was not going to attend it.
Except for Anil Kapoor and several other Indian film stars, the rest of the Bollywood stars had not attended a banquet organized by the President on the 5th in honor of the Bollywood stars who were in Colombo to attend the IIFA awards.
Malini Fonseka had attended the banquet on a Presidential invitation.
Angered by the Bollywood stars’ boycott of the lunch organized by him, the President had asked local film stars Malini Fonseka and Ravindra Randeniya not to attend the IIFA awards ceremony as he too was not going to attend it.
The President had also asked Malini and Ravindra to ask other local artistes to also stay away from the ceremony.
In such a backdrop, Malini had not attended the ceremony citing health reasons. However, First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa and Sri Lanka’s coordinator to the IIFA awards, Namal Rajapaksa attended the event.
The First Lady and the First Son had only stayed at the event for a short while and had suddenly left the venue after the President had asked them to do so
