TORONTO: Michael Jackson and his siblings watched Bollywood films every Saturday morning when they were young and were inspired by the glamour, Jermaine Jackson said Thursday. “We were watching you from day one as we were on the journey to becoming The Jackson Five,” he told a press conference at the opening of the Indian International Film Awards in Toronto. “We loved the dance, the costumes, the entertainment, the set designs. That inspired us a great deal.” Jackson performed his late brother's hits and sing with Indian pop singer Sonu Nigam at an IIFA concert, Friday to commemorate the second anniversary of Michael's death. Flash mobs of Indian dancers, dozens of Bollywood superstars hounded by autograph-seeking fans and a gala movie premiere kicked off the 12th Indian International Film Awards, Thursday. It is the first time that the award ceremony has been held in North America. The three-day festival got underway with an address by host and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty in which he vowed that all Westerners by the end of the IIFA celebrations “will know the names of Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Anil Kapoor just as well as Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp and Rachel McAdams.” Ontario has the second largest Indian diaspora in the world, topping 600,000 out of a total population of 13 million, “and their passion for Indian cinema has become ours (all Ontarians) too,” he added. Thousands of fans gathered outside a cinema in a suburb of Toronto for the world premiere of the comedy “Double Dhamaal” and glimpses of their favorite stars. “Slumdog Millionaire” actor Anil Kapoor drew the loudest cheers on the “green” carpet.
