* Tusshar Kapoor, Kunal Khemu, Manish Paul, Karishma Tanna to host star-studded extravaganza at Reliance Media Works Studio in FilmCity

MUMBAI: All roads will lead to the spanking new Reliance Media Works Studio in FilmCity tonight, which will host the star-studded BIG STAR IMA Awards, the initiative by media giants BIG Live and the Star Network in partnership with the Indian Music Academy, to raise a toast to the best of music. The Who's Who of the music fraternity and celebrities from Media, Entertainment and other areas will be present to witness the celebration of Indian Music.

The awards ceremony will see heart throbs Abhishek Bachchan and Katrina Kaif performing live, along with music superstars like Sonu Nigam, Shankar Mahadevan, Mika Singh and Tochi Rainaa among others,  and TV stars like Sushant Singh Rajput.

While the glamorous Katrina Kaif will present a classy Moulin Rouge style performance, Abhishek Bachchan will groove to songs like Right Here Right Now, Dus Bahane, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Beera Beera. On why he is performing to these particular songs, Arjun Singgh Baran, Business Head – Intellectual Properties, BIG Live, says, We coopted BIG FM in a huge way to not only promote these awards in 36 cities across the HSMs, but also produced special promos which had Abhishek asking them to suggest which of his popular songs they wanted him to perform to at the live event. We received a large number of entries, and in deference to the listeners' request, Abhishek will perform live to their favourite songs....

The BIG STAR IMA Awards, which have been conceptualized to recognize Musical excellence in the areas of composition, singing, writing and technical expertise, and to encourage emerging talent across important genres of Indian music, will be hosted by movie stars Tusshar Kapoor and Kunal Khemu along with top TV talent Manish Paul and Karishma Tanna.

The BIG STAR IMA Awards have received over 3000 entries, and what is completely unprecedented in the history of awards in India is the fact that most of these 3000-plus entries are directly by the music fraternity – composers, singers, lyricists – themselves,... says Arjun Singgh Baran, Business Head – Intellectual Properties, BIG Live. Something like that happens only at the Grammys internationally, which his why they are so immensely respected by and aspirational for the music fraternity globally. Together with the IMA and the STAR Network, we will strive to grow these awards in stature and repute every year....

A specialized panel of eminent judges will decide the winners across each of the  five categories, which are: Traditional, Classical, World Contemporary, Film, and Music Industry. Jagjit Singh chairs the Traditional category jury which includes Kuldeep Singh, Dr. Jaspinder Narula and Anup Jalota, while the Classical category jury is chaired by the renowned Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, with Dr. N Rajam, Pt. Suresh Talwalkar and Alamelu Mani comprising the jury. The World Contemperory category has eminent musician Louiz Banks chairing a jury comprising of Luke Kenny, Leslie Lewis  and himself, while the Film category jury is chaired by eminent composer Pyarelal; Anuradha Paudwal, Sameer and respected composer and violinist Uttam Singh are the other members of the jury  The jury for the Music Industry category includes Dhruv Ghanekar, Pandit Dinesh, Deepak Pandit and Jury Chairman Leslie Lewis.

A massive set has been created at the Reliance Media Works Studio. Television and Radio content professional Manav Dhanda is directing the television production of the show, which will air on Star TV some time in end-March-early-April.