The best of Indian cinema is being honored tonight in Tampa.
The International Indian Film Academy is holding its 15th annual awards at Raymond James Stadium.
The start of the show re-enacted the invasion of Gasparilla with the hosts arriving in a pirate ship, which shot off cannons.
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn gave the pirates the key to the city, on the condition they "entertain us."
The stadium was packed with fans from the nosebleed seats to the field.
Farhan Akhtar's film "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag" is leading the nomination list with 10 nods.
Actress Deepika Padukone has been nominated for her three films in the leading female performer category.
John Travolta will be honored at the awards show as the "Most Popular All Time International Star In India.”
Popular Indian film stars including Padukone, Anil Kapoor, Varun Sharma, and Gulshan Grover walked the green carpet to hundreds of screaming fans and local and international media.
When asked how it felt to hear all the fans screaming his name, Kapoor said, "Well, I feel blessed. I feel fortunate, if I can get that kind of smiles on their faces and make them happy, I feel I'm grateful to God."
Travolta and actor Kevin Spacey also walked the carpet and received a warm welcome from Bollywood fans.
"I've only been here today, but if you know I come to Tampa, you know, and this is the kind if greeting I get then I'll be back quite a lot," Spacey said.
The House of Cards actor arrived in town earlier in the day to participate in a master class.
"We were having a conversation about the arts and about acting and the differences between film and theatre. There were many, many profoundly well-known writers and directors and actors from India who were there.
"I know a few of them but many of them I didn't know. And they were very kind and they were very probing and very engaged and we spent about and hour and a half and I dropped the F-bomb a lot."
Hundreds of fans lined up just outside the stadium where the green carpet was set up. Some fans were spotted in trees to get a better view.
They arrived hours before the start of the show hoping to get a glimpse of their favorite stars.
Kalpana Patel traveled to Tampa from Cleveland, Ohio. She braved the crowds along with 50 members of her family.
Though not a fan of the hot weather, Patel said she couldn't wait to see her favorite actor Hrithik Roshan.
Patel has been a fan of Indian films all her life.
"It keeps me connected," Patel said, adding she's lived in the US for 30 years.
On the other side of the street, 16-year-old Shreya Patel was celebrating her birthday.
"I've dreamed about this since I was a little girl" Patel said, showing off her tickets," she said. "They're really good seats."
Her favorite actress is the stunning Deepika Padukone.
Every year, the IIFA takes its awards weekend to a different country. The so-called Bollywood Oscars have been held in Macau, Singapore, London.
This is the first time the event has been held in the US.
Ticket prices at the stadium, usually where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play, ranged from $93.50 for the upper levels of the stadium to $3,294.75 on the field near the stage.
The awards ceremony tonight caps a week focused on Indian film, fashion, music, business and culture.
About 800 million people will watch the ceremony on television or the Internet, according to organizers.
Here is the list of all the nominees in the popular categories:
Best Film
- Aditya Chopra - Dhoom 3
- Karan Johar - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
- Kishore Lulla & Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Goliyon Ki Rasleela-Ramleela
- Rakesh Roshan - Krrish 3
- Ronnie Screwvala & Siddharth Roy Kapoor - Kai Po Che
- Ronnie Screwvala,Siddharth Roy Kapoor, Gauri Khan & Karim Morani - Chennai Express
- Viacom 18 Motion Pictures & Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Best Director
- Abhishek Kapoor - Kai Po Che
- Rakesh Roshan - Krrish 3
- Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
- Rohit Shetty - Chennai Express
- Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Goliyon Ki Rasleela- Ramleela
Best Actor (Male)
- Farhan Akhtar - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
- Hrithik Roshan - Krrish 3
- Ranbir Kapoor - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
- Ranveer Singh - Goliyon Ki Rasleela-Ramleela
- Shahrukh Khan - Chennai Express
- Sushant Singh Rajput - Kai Po Che
- Best Actor (Female)
- Deepika Padukone - Chennai Express
- Deepika Padukone - Goliyon Ki Rasleela- Ramleela
- Deepika Padukone - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
- Nimrat Kaur - The Lunchbox
- Shraddha Kapoor - Aashiqui 2
- Sonakshi Sinha - Lootera
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male)
- Aditya Roy Kapoor - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
- Anupam Kher - Special 26
- Nawazuddin Siddiqui - The Lunchbox
- Pawan Malhotra - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
- Saurabh Shukla - Jolly LLB
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female)
- Divya Dutta - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
- Kalki Koechlin - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
- Kangana Ranaut - Krrish 3
- Richa Chadda - Goliyon Ki Rasleela-Ramleela
- Shruti Hassan - D Day
- Swara Bhaskar - Raanjhanaa
Performance in a Comic Role
- Arshad Warsi - Jolly LLB
- Riteish Deshmukh - Grand Masti
- Varun Sharma - Fukrey
Performance in a Negative Role
- Rishi Kapoor - D-Day
- Rishi Kapoor - Aurangzeb
- Supriya Pathak - Goliyon Ki Rasleela- Ramleela
- Vivek Oberoi - Krrish 3
Music Direction
- Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari,Jeet Ganguly - Aashiqui 2
- Pritam - Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani
- Shankaar - Ehsaan - Loy - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Best Story
- Prasoon Joshi - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
- Pubali Chaudhuri, Abhishek Kapoor & Chetan Bhagat - Kai Po Che
- Ritesh Batra - The Lunchbox
Lyrics
- Mithoon - Tum Hi Ho - Aashiqui 2
- Prasoon Joshi - O Rangrez - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
- Sandeep Nath - Sunn Raha Hai - Aashiqui 2
Playback Singer (Male)
- Ankit Tiwari - Sunn Rahai Hai - Aashiqui 2
- Arijit Singh - Tum Hi Ho - Aashiqui 2
- Siddharth Mahadevan - Zinda - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Playback Singer (Female)
- Bhoomi Trivedi - Ram Chahe Leela - Goliyon Ki Rasleela - Ramleela
- Monali Thakur - Sawaar Loon - Lootera
- Shreya Ghoshal - Sunn Raha Hai - Aashiqui 2
- Shreya Ghoshal - O Rangrez - Bhaag Milkha Bhaag