Amitabh celebrates 10 years with IIFA

2009’s International Indian film Academy Awards (IIFA) awards celebrate its tenth year in June, also marking Amitabh Bachchan’s decade-long association with the academy.

Bachchan says, “This will be the tenth year that I am part of the awards. I am very excited to be with IIFA for so long.”

The ceremony, which will be held from June 11 to June 13 this year, is scheduled to take place in the ‘Las Vegas of Asia’. Big B explains, “This time, the awards will be held in Macau, China; a place that I have never visited. But from what I have heard and what I have seen on websites, it is a beautiful place.”

As for his son’s and daughter-in-law’s presence at the awards, Bachchan is unsure of whether Abhishek and Aishwarya will make it. He says, “If they have dates, then Abhi and Ash will join us. If they don’t, they will not. But, most probably, they will come, as they have been nominated.”

And though Abhishek and Aishwarya have both been nominated for awards, Amitabh flatly refuses to comment on whether he thinks his relatives deserve to win the prizes. “If they are capable of winning those awards, then they will win. If they are not, then they will not. Their work should speak for them, not their father,” he diplomatically puts it.

Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan have also been nominated, but Bachchan is clueless as to whether they’ll be joining him in China, saying, “How do I know if they will come? Actors have commitments with their work, so I presume that if they have free dates, they will come. They have all been invited.”

On a more certain note, the veteran superstar is thrilled at the fame and respect Bollywood is now getting on the international circuit. He says, “I’m very happy to know that knowledge of Indian cinema has now spread worldwide and everyone knows about our films. I have just got back from Europe, where I was shooting, and there too, foreigners were talking about Indian cinema. This is the aim of the IIFA: to showcase Indian cinema to the international market.”