The much hyped Indian International filmfare academy awards ceremony towards which the Govt. and its Organizers spent over Rs. 100 million to make it a stupendous success began and ended as a damp squib
. The main actors and actresses , Amitab Bacchchan , Shah Rukh Khan , Amir Khan , Aishwarya Rai, Katrina Kaif , Priyantha Chopra and music director Rahman were notable absentees.
To add to the humiliation of the Govt. and the Organizers , even the few actors and actresses who came to SL for the event had not favorably responded to the invitation extended to them to lunch at the Temple Trees on the 5th. Even the few who graced the occasion had blithely arrived and left at times chosen by them at their will and pleasure.
What was most striking was , even the SL’s screen veteran actress Malini Fonseka who had won most number of awards as an actress has not participated at the awards function. So were Ravindra Randeniya and Jackson Anthony , two popular local actors.
Even the chief guest President Mahinda Rajapakse had not attended the ceremony .
No matter who must take the blame for this absolute fiasco , one truth stands out, as always, it is finally the economy of the country and the common man who suffer by this colossal waste of funds. It is very unfortunate that the Govt. which made a huge din that it is going to revive the tourist Industry with this event had to recoil in shame owing to the disgraceful failure engendered by those who organized (disorganized) it .
As the Opposition leader Ranil Wickemesinghe aptly put it at a UNP party meeting : the Govt. invited the Khannas of Bollywood for the Festival , but they refused to come pointing out that there are enough ‘Rata Khannas’ in the Govt. , and therefore their arrival will be of no use
