IIFA is usually a much-awaited affair every year for Bollywood. This time, coronavirus has put a damper on the world and now Bollywood is also facing its trickle-down effect. The three-day award show has now been postponed.
IIFA 2020 was supposed to take place in Madhya Pradesh this year. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak in India, the awards have been postponed to fresh dates, which haven't yet been announced.
IIFA postponed over coronavirus outbreak
The 21st edition of the International Indian Film Academy Awards was going to be held in Madhya Pradesh this year. The award show is usually a star-studded event every year, that has been held in exotic locations in the world. The event was to be hosted by Salman Khan in Indore this time around. The initial dates for the event were, 27th to 29th March.
The organisers released a public statement on Friday announcing that the show has been postponed in light of the Coronavirus spread in India. The statement read, "With due regard to the growing concerns around the spread of COVID-19 virus and keeping the health and safety of IIFA's fans and the general community at large, it has been decided to postpone the much-awaited IIFA Weekend and Awards 2020 celebrations, which were originally scheduled at the end of March."
This will be a disappointment for the industry. The world has been reeling under the deadly disease for a while now and India has lately seen a sudden surge in cases, which now stands at 31.
While no positive cases have been reported in Madhya Pradesh, the central government has issued an advisory to avoid gatherings and crowds. The Prime Minister too decided not to take part in the Holi celebrations. IIFA has issued the statement in the best interest of the fan and the industry's health.
Many Bollywood stars too have made changes following the outbreak. While Deepika Padukone had a no-show at the Paris Fashion Week, Salman Khan's Thailand shoot for Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai was also cancelled. We can only hope things return to normal.
Earlier this week, there was an event for IIFA held in Mumbai featuring Kartik Aaryan and Katrina Kaif. That makes the quick turnaround all the more surprising. IIFA has said that that a new date for the awards will be set at the earliest, as of now, the event stands postponed.
