IFFM 2018 Day 2: Bollywood Dance Competition

One of the day's many brilliant competitors.

Clearly the fix was in.

Forecasters called for a brutal winter's day in Melbourne yesterday but only light, intermittent rain fell on Melbourne during the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne's outdoor events in Federation Square. Call it luck, call it poor forecasting -- I'll go with the sheer force of Mitu Bhowmick Lange's will, who oversaw the proceedings as usual, and who was safely inside adjacent Deakin Edge theatre later in the day when skies turned surly and rain bucketed down. I pity the rain that threatens Mitu's carefully planned festival.

This year's Bollywood Dance Competition took place on a different stage than previous competitions, but the mood was typically joyous as competitors strut their stuff.

Earlier in the day, Indian acting icon Rani Mukherjee raised India's flag a few days before India's Independence Day.

There are many familiar faces at each year's festival, but few are as ready for their movie-star closeup as Puneet Gulati's.

On the subject of familiar festival faces/movie stars: Multi-talented Bollywood fixture Malaika Arora Khan once again brought her glamour to the Bollywood Dance Competition. I genuinely don't know if I could remember dance moves with a gaze like hers looking up at me. Fellow judge and Bollywood bigwig Nikkhil Advani is beside her

Photographer/model/actual beauty pageant winner Lucia Hou once again captured the action at Federation Square in an outfit befitting motorcycle royalty.

Mitu chats with judge Avtar Panesar, a VP at Yash Raj Films and an early advocate of bringing Bollywood to Australia.

Telstra Bollywood Dance Comp @ Fed Square, 4 May 2014

Grey skies and rain couldn't dampen the high spirits of dancers, spectators and judges at yesterday's Telstra Bollywood Dance Competition at Fed Square. The event is a signature part of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, which is on through May 11th.

Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick Lange served as MC for the event. 

Dancers who've already performed watch the competition.

This year's judges: Avtar Panesar, VP of Int'l Operations at Yash Raj Films; Indian dance icon Malaika Arora Khan; 'Dhoom 3' director Vijay Krishna Acharya.

Grey skies threatened. It's May in Melbourne. No way around it.

This looks like the poster for an action movie called 'THE JUDGES'.

Malaika's stunning.

Malaika announces the first winner, a lovely girl named Sanjana.

Sanjana onstage with Mitu and the judges.

Classical dancer Elise Ford-Watson was another winner.

Top prize winners Sapphire Dance and Shiamak Davar Academy join the judges.

Diwali Festival 2013 in Fed Square

A chilly and occasionally wet spring Saturday didn't keep Melbourne's Indian community from gathering in Fed Square to celebrate Diwali.

City of Lit

UNESCO has named Melbourne its second City of Literature (Edinburgh was the first). A timely recognition for Australia's cultural capital with the Melbourne Writers Festival kicking off tomorrow at Federation Square. I'll be attending a keynote speech by Augusten Burroughs and assorted workshops. Absorb these factoids if you question Melbourne's literary dominance:

• Melbourne boasts more bookshops per head of population than anywhere else in Australia.
  
• About a third of Australia's book-retailing businesses are in Victoria.
  
• Melbourne has the highest concentration of community book clubs in the country.
  
• Victoria publishes a higher number of books, per head of population, than any other state.
  

Howzat, Sydney??!!