Anil Kapoor and Bipasha Basu on the IIFA green carpet at Tampa in Florida (Pictures: Pabitra Das); (below) Madhuri Dixit performs at the IIFA Awards

An old adage goes: Aim for the moon… even if you fail, you will at least land among the stars. I realised that during the four days I spent with the stars at the IIFA Awards 2014 at Florida’s Tampa Bay.

Employed with a private bank, I had been planning a small vacation to soothe my frayed nerves after the end of a successful financial year-end. Just then an email from The Telegraph popped up on my BlackBerry. To my surprise and exhilaration, it read ‘Please treat this as a confirmation from our end’. I was shortlisted to go to Tampa Bay and be a part of the IIFA Awards — the Indian Oscars!

After a week of shuttling between visa centre, consulate office, shopping mall and surfing through various websites, I parked myself on the flight to the US in the wee hours of Wednesday, April 23. The fatigue that had set in after flying for nearly 28 hours drained off as soon as the in-flight PA system announced that we would be landing at Tampa soon. The Florida skyline was in sight and the sun was just about to set, trailing a crimson radiance on the horizon. This was chicken soup for the tired soul.

Minutes after landing, I was driven to my hotel, Marriott Waterside. Word had come in that the Kapoor clan along with Saif Ali Khan had checked into their rooms and fans were pouring in to catch a glimpse of their favourite stars. I wrestled with jet lag to take a quick shower and reach Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park where IIFA Stomp was in progress. The Stomp was Bollywood’s “official invasion” of Tampa and Anil Kapoor had arrived for the opening act. After spending nearly 45 minutes at the venue, I decided to call it a day with the notes of Do The Tampa — the official IIFA Tampa anthem — ringing in my ears.

Anshul goes click-click with Bipasha Basu, Milkha Singh and Sonakshi Sinha

April 24, Thursday: Everyone has role models, but very few get to meet them in real life. At the breakfast lounge, I spotted Mr Narayana Murthy standing in queue. After a quick introduction, I requested him for a photograph to which he readily agreed. Seated at the next table was Mr R.K. Pachauri, the chairman of IPCC, awarded the Nobel Prize in 2007. The breakfast area was brimming with people for IIFA Global Business Forum, a platform to promote business ties between the US and India. Hoping for some key takeaways from the forum and networking with industry honchos, I got into my business suit and reached Tampa Convention Centre to attend the summit. In attendance were about 250 people from FICCI, heads of US and Indian companies, diplomats and businessmen. The theme was ‘Indo-US Partnership: A Catalyst for Economic Growth’ where Didar Singh, the secretary general of FICCI, counselled US investors to focus on defence, energy and education — three fastest- growing sectors in India.

Post that, I was at the Tampa Theatre to witness the premiere of Anupam Kher’s short film I Went Shopping for Robert De Niro. It was an honour to share the same row in the audience with Anil Kapoor, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Resul Pookutty, Riteish Deshmukh and Anupam Kher. An acting workshop was also conducted by Kher in which the audience participated with gusto.

On my way back to the hotel, sipping my cup of coffee from Starbucks, I popped into the Tampa Convention Centre to participate in IIFA Expo which was kicked off by Anil Kapoor. The inauguration of the three-day expo aimed at promoting trade and commerce between India and the US. As dusk descended on Tampa, all traffic seemed to converge at one place: Tampa Convention Centre for IIFA Rocks. As I walked the green carpet with Bollywood celebrities, I was on cloud nine. I got to share the moment with Priyanka Chopra, Sonakshi Sinha, Bipasha Basu, Gauahar Khan, Nimrat Kaur, Anil Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi and Riteish Deshmukh.

Hosted by Gauahar Khan and Vivek Oberoi, the evening kicked off with a fashion show by Manish Malhotra in association with Mijwan Welfare Trust. Sonakshi Sinha, Sidharth Malhotra and Anil Kapoor walked the ramp even as singers Bhoomi Trivedi, Monali Thakur and Ankit Tewari rendered some popular numbers. I clicked pictures with Sonakshi, Sidharth, Javed Akhtar and Monali, which put my Facebook page on fire for the next few hours.

April 25, Friday: Being an avid traveller, I believe that any travel is incomplete if we do not enhance our knowledge about the places we visit. With a Google Map in hand, I set out at 8am to explore Tampa on foot. I crossed beautiful waterfronts, towering buildings of financial giants Suntrust, Chase Bank and Bank of America. Near St Petersburg, I hopped onto a quaint yellow tram.

In the evening, it was time for Magic of the Movies, the Technical Awards event at the Mid Florida Amphitheatre. On the green carpet, I took photographs with Dia Mirza, Shankar Mahadevan and Ehsaan Noorani, Mika, Gauahar Khan and Anupam Kher.

Playing to a packed stadium, the evening kicked off with Farhan Akhtar belting out his hits followed by performances from Bipasha Basu, Sonakshi Sinha, Kareena Kapoor, Mika and Pritam. The showstopper of the evening was Hrithik Roshan for whom a chock-a-block stadium cheered every time the cameras focused on him on the giant screen. The event gave me an opportunity to interact closely with Sharman Joshi who has done a number of commercials for the bank I work for.

After the event, it was time to head to Hard Rock Café for the post-party, but I decided instead to explore the nightlife of the city. The moment I stepped out, I got an opportunity to hitch a ride with Divya Dutta who suggested we check out Ybor City. At Ybor City, we spotted cafes, bistros and clubs even as the fragrance of Cuban coffee roasting on the streets flared my nostrils.

April 26, Saturday: IIFA’s D-Day began at 6.30am for me with a jog across Hyde Park Village and the waterfront. At breakfast, Kareena Kapoor and Sridevi were seated on adjacent tables. I did some sightseeing, with the Florida Aquarium as my first stop. After grabbing a quick bite at Wendy’s and a fleeting glance at the Henry Plant Museum, I was ready for the starry night at the Raymond James Stadium. On the green carpet, I got clicked with Milkha Singh. As I stood at the sidelines, I took photographs with Bipasha Basu, Vivek Oberoi, Prasoon Joshi, Arshad Warsi, Anil Kapoor, Govinda, Boman Irani, Randhir Kapoor, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Tusshar Kapoor, Manish Malhotra, Rajkumar Hirani, Gulshan Grover and Nawaz Siddiqui.

Seated in the fourth row from the stage, I watched performances by Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Parineeti Chopra and Sidharth Malhotra. The historic moment of the evening? Kevin Spacey doing the Lungi dance with Deepika, Shahid Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar!

The night came to an end at 3 in the morning and with a 10am flight to catch, I couldn’t get any shut-eye. Back home now, when I look back at that week gone by, everything seems like a dream. IIFA 2014 has given me memories that will last a lifetime.

I thank Team t2 for giving me this fabulous opportunity to be a part of a magical week.

Anshul attended the IIFA Awards 2014 in Tampa, Florida as the winner of a contest organised by t2

The IIFA Awards will be aired on STAR Plus at 8pm on Sunday