Bollywood Queen Madhuri Dixit Nene talks to media as Aly Morani of Cineyug (r) looks on, at the Hyatt in Santa Clara, Calif., Jan. 27. (Amar D. Gupta/Siliconeer)

After IIFA in Tampa, we wondered what was next. The answer came from right in our backyard. Silicon Valley has been the hub of desi techies and entrepreneurs for over a decade now. A new forte has just begun. Indian Academy Awards will host it’s first ever “Oscars-like” awards function to honor Indian Film fraternity from Bollywood and Tollywood in Oakland, Calif., this year. – @siliconeer #siliconeer #Bollywood @Bollywood #Tollywood #ShahRukhKhan #iamSRK @iamSRK #IndianAcademyAwards @Tollywood @ShahRukhKhan @IndianAcademyAwards @MadhuriDixit #MadhuriDixit @IndianConsulateSF #IndianConsulateSF #SiliconValley #SanFranciscoBayArea #SFBayArea #TeluguCinema

A sign of the times, perhaps, for California. After the Oscars in Hollywood, it’s going to be Bollywood glitter in Silicon Valley, and aptly so, given the ever-growing Desi population and following for Bollywood movies as seen at many Cinemark and AMC theatres across the San Francisco Bay Area.

Brainstorm Entertainment’s Vandana Krishna talks about Indian Academy Awards at the Hyatt in Santa Clara, Calif., Jan. 27. (Amar D. Gupta/Siliconeer)

Madhuri Dixit Nene was recently in Silicon Valley to announce the Indian Academy Awards. At a press conference held at the Santa Clara Hyatt, Jan. 27, Madhuri announced the event to local media and was accompanied by local event organizers and those from India.

At hand were Consul General of India, San Francisco, Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok, Aly Morani from Cineyug, Divya Tiwari, Saratoga Councilmember Rishi Kumar, Vandana Krishna from Brainstorm Entertainment, U.S. partners Dr. Vijay Tiwari, Ritu Panesar and Silkey Jain, amongst others who took questions from a visibly excited media at the Hyatt.

(L-r): Aly Morani, Madhuri Dixit, Saratoga Councilmember Rishi Kumar, Consul General of India San Francisco Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok, Vandana Krishna address media at the Hyatt in Santa Clara, Calif., Jan. 27. (Amar D. Gupta/Siliconeer)

The Indian Academy Awards will be held in Oakland, Calif., July 7-8, this year. The two-day event promises to be extremely hi-tech and different from the pack, as it will feature live voting by a global audience. It will have stars from both Bollywood and the Telugu film fraternity or Tollywood in attendance and will feature entertainment and live shows.

Bollywood Queen Madhuri Dixit Nene talks to media as Aly Morani of Cineyug (r) looks on, at the Hyatt in Santa Clara, Calif., Jan. 27. (Amar D. Gupta/Siliconeer)

Fans can start voting on the IAA Web site (http://indianacademyawards.com) as early as March 2017. Over the course of five months there will be multiple events with the culmination at the grand awards ceremony in July.

Shah Rukh Khan is slated to be onboard, so for all those SRK fans, this is your chance!

(L-r): Aly Morani, Madhuri Dixit, Saratoga Councilmember Rishi Kumar, Consul General of India San Francisco Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok, Vandana Krishna address media at the Hyatt in Santa Clara, Calif., Jan. 27. (Amar D. Gupta/Siliconeer)
Dr. Vijay Tiwari, Aly Morani, Divya Tiwari, Madhuri Dixit, Rishi Kumar, Vandana Krishna, Consul General Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok, Silkey Jain, Ritu Panesar, Ay​u​sh Jain and Kiran Panesar pose for a group picture at the Hyatt in Santa Clara, Calif., Jan. 27. (Amar D. Gupta/Siliconeer)