Indian International Film Academy + $12M Tax Payers Money = ?

As I sit here and watch all the previous IIFA specials on TV, I think back on the awards show in Toronto last weekend and I feel jipped. Where was all the star power that was promised?!
The IIFA awards lacked the star power that was confirmed by IIFA themselves, Saif Ali Khan was scheduled to host Fashion Rocks – he was a no-show. Salman Khan was scheduled to debut his movie – he was a no-show. Priety Zinta who attended the press conference earlier was scheduled to come – again, no-show.
For months the media all over North America went over a tizzy that finally Bollywood was making its first grand appearance in North America, selecting Toronto to be its port of call. Hundreds and thousands of dollars went into advertising that the show would be like no other. The heavy weights of the Industry would all be there – Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan and the Bacchan family to name a few. But, instead, in the end, it was left to Shah Rukh Khan to shoulder much of the show. – Oyetimes.com
Don’t get me wrong I was super exited during the week leading up to the awards, especially when we got the confirmation that Bollywood superstar SRK would be coming down (he single-handedly saved the awards show), I was totally caught up in the hype and ready to experience IIFA! – but now that I take the time to reflect back on  IIFA weekend, it  was defiantly not worth $12M.
The Ontario government spent $12M to host IIFA this year – what was it for?
All we got was a poorly organized and second rate awards ceremony that did not respect time (it started an hour late) and dragged on for 5 hours so that by the time the people rolled out, there was no TTC available to go home. Also many are questioning as to what exactly happened to the $12m? Was it used to pay exorbitant fees to enrich already rich Indian actors? If that is the case, surely the money will go out of Canada. And for what? To please the South Asian diaspora from which many are actually cribbing at how badly they got ripped off? – Oyetimes.com