MUMBAI: It was a grand old ball, when Shah Rukh Khan came out for a sighting, and graced the launch of the Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA).

Not one to be bogged down by recent controversies (where his interview to a magazine about his identity as a Muslim in a post 9/11 world was attacked for some of his opinions), Shah Rukh kept a level head and exuded a cool demeanor as he did the job of launching the film awards with utmost sincerity.

Shah Rukh Khan stuck to his favourite hue of black, and was joined at the awards launch by Bollywood’s most revered choreographer Shiamak Davar and TOI Group MD Vineet Jain at the launch of TOIFA, held at Taj Land’s End in Mumbai.

Launching as it has in the centenary of Indian cinema, this first year of TOIFA will be doubly special as it will be a three day extravaganza, celebrating the very best that Bollywood has to offer. To be held at different global locations every year, this year’s edition of  TOIFA will kick off in Vancouver, Canada.

Said SRK, of his excitement to be part of the latest awards in Bollywood: “I am happy and fortunate to be here to launch this. We want to put India on a global platform. We want to put our best foot forward. It is a great platform. I think awards are a great representation of our hard work and effort that we put in to entertain our audiences.”

And he was naturally thrilled to be working with Davar again, who’d choreographed him in ‘Dil Toh Pagal Hai’ and ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’. He was also ecstatic to be performing at the function in Vancouver, Canada; a city he’d had a long association with.“I had been to Vancouver while I was shooting for ‘Pardes’…I had a great time there. It is an amazing city…A film-friendly place.”

The TOIFA kicks off on April 4th, 2013 with musicians from Bollywood performing live at the venue. On 5th April, the schedule includes screening of the best of Indian cinema, followed by the TOIFA nominations gala. And finally, the 3-day event concludes on 6th April with the unprecedentedly grand awards ceremony, which will be hosted by Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma, and which will witness incredible high-octane performances from Shah Rukh, Ranbir, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra and Abhishek Bachchan.