Candid moments from IIFA 2014_Part_1

Celebrities and dignitaries from India and the United States descended on Florida this week for the "Bollywood Oscars," an awards event making its first-ever U.S. stop with the aim of creating deeper ties between the two countries.

 

 The highlight of this year’s IIFA awards was Deepika Padukone and Kevin Spacey dancing to the tunes of Lungi dance while wearing a lungi.

 It was a special moment when the 54 year old Hollywood A-lister handed the coveted award for Entertainer of the Year to Deepika.

 A host of Bollywood stars attended the glitzy do, and performances by Hrithik Roshan, Shahid, Madhuri dixit and John Travolta were the highlight of the night.

 Hrithik and John Travolta match steps.

 Priyanka and John Travolta at the IIFA Awards night.

 It was quite a sight to see the Hollywood biggies surprise everyone with their impromptu jigs.

 The International Indian Film Academy's awards show set has been compared to the Super Bowl in terms of its security needs, traffic management and planning.

 Its expected worldwide viewership of 800 million far surpasses the championship American football game's 111.5 million viewers on average in 2014.

 The film academy's choice of Tampa, home to Florida's third-largest South Asian community, to host its first U.S.-based awards show in the event's 15-year history came as a happy surprise to some fans.

"I jumped out of my seat," said Rubia Qureshi, 22, a local resident who grew up watching Bollywood films, known for their distinctive and elaborate song-and-dance performances. "I'm the biggest fan."