“The Masala! Awards will be a grand, exciting celebration”

International model, VJ, producer, director and style guru, Wiqar Ali Khan wears a lot of hats with equal aplomb. He is a familiar face in Pakistan and across borders and an integral part of the entertainment world as well as the fashion world. He’s been the face of Calvin Klein and modeled for Coca-Cola, Motorola, Sony Eriksson, Peugeot and Microsoft among many other brands. Wiqar is going to be hosting the Masala! Awards happening December 17 at Atlantis, The Palm, which will be attended by stars including Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Karan Johar Malaika Arora and Urmila. Here’s what Wiqar's got to say about the super exciting event.

What are you expecting at the Masala! Awards?
It’s going to be the most exciting event ever with the biggest celebrities from Bollywood getting together for Masala! at the fantastic venue that is Atlantis, The Palm, it’s the number one location in the city. So the Masala! Awards are not just an awards show but a grand celebration of excellence. I’m going to be hosting an event where legends will be present. What can be bigger than that? I am sure everyone wants to be there to see the stars from Amitabh Bachchan to Hrithik Roshan who appeal to people across generations.

Tell us about your fave Bollywood star interaction
It happened when I first met Mr. Bachchan way back in 1992, soon after his movie ‘Khuda Gawah’ was released. He was the chief guest at an event at the Hilton in London, and I was going to meet him. Of course I went and watched ‘Khuda Gawah’ before with my family. We really loved the movie, and as Pathans felt that Mr. Bachchan looked like a Pathan and acted like a Pathan. But I did observe that there were some errors in the movie. For instance, in the culture if someone enters your home uninvited, then they are an enemy. But the movie had people entering Mr. Bachchan’s character’s home without an invitation all the time. I brought this up when I met Mr. Bachchan, and told him that whoever researched this had gone wrong. And Mr. Bachchan said, “If I ever make part two of the movie, I’d like you to be the consultant!” That was so great of him to say. And you know he’s always remembered me whenever we’ve met since.
I also met Salman Khan in the early 90s and he told me that I should go to the gym, and even took me to the gym with him! When I was in Mumbai recently, he invited me to his home for dinner.

What’s been keeping you busy recently
I’ve been directing, producing and hosting the new international season of MTV Style Guru, I've also directed my first Bollywood music video, which should be coming in early 2011. Apart from that, there’ve also been some international modeling campaigns that I’ll be involved with.

Want to be a part of the Masala! Awards? Select tables are available (Dhs10,000 for a table of 10). Contact Nicky Barr (nicky.barr@itp.com) or Cheryl Chipman (cheryl.chipman@itp.com) to book.

You can also book any suite at Atlantis, The Palm and enjoy a 20% discount with a 'Money Can't Buy' chance to win a pair of exclusive invites to the Masala! Awards. Call + 971 4 426 0000 for details.