Rendezvous with world stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme, film workshops and a splash of glamour - the 7th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards from June 14 promises to be an entertainment extravaganza for Bollywood buffs in Dubai.

Apart from the awards ceremony, which is on June 16, a highlight of the event is the screening of Jagmohan Mundhra's much talked about film "Provoked" starring Aishwarya Rai and based on the true story of a woman who is a victim of domestic violence.

"Continuing the trend this year we are going to premiere Mundhra's 'Provoked' at the IIFA awards in Dubai," Sabbas Joseph, director Wizcraft International, told the media here Friday.

Films like "Lagaan", "Yuva" and "Parineeta" were premiered at IIFA events in the last six years.

Mundhra's "Provoked" earned rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival recently.

"I was thrilled when I was told that the IIFA advisory board has decided to premiere my film at the festival. The film has the true global essence - it is the combination of big Bollywood and Hollywood stars and the script is global too," said Mundhra who was also present at the press conference.

Joseph said that Amitabh Bachchan, the brand ambassador of IIFA, was supposed to preside over the press conference but couldn't make it due to a muscle pull.

This year IIFA is also holding a film festival where 31 Indian films, including Hindi and other regional movies, will be showcased. It will be inaugurated by Amitabh. Yash Chopra's cross border love story "Veer-Zaara" starring Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukerji and Amitabh will kick-start the festival.

Ashok Amritraj and Kabir Bedi will share their experiences with film students from the Gulf region at the film workshop. The cast and crew of Karan Johar's upcoming film "Kabhie Alivda Naa Kehna" (KANK) and Naseeruddin Shah's directorial debut "Yun Hota To Kya Hota" will conduct a media briefing. Also, Johar will launch the music of KANK on the occasion.

Apart from Bollywood biggies a host of southern stars - Mammootty, Mohanlal, Jyothika, Simran and R. Madhavan - will attend the event.

This year Idea Cellular, one of the co-sponsors, is instituting two new awards.

"Idea will present Idea glamorous star of the year and Idea creative person of the year. The winners are selected on the basis of voting by SMS," said Pradeep Srivastav, vice president, marketing, Idea cellular.

Also present at the conference was Saeed Al Nabouda, CEO of Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprise.