Sri Lankan Jacqueline Fernandez a source of inspiration Amitabh Bachchan

Sri Lankan Jacqueline a source of inspiration: Bachchan

Colombo, April 20 (IANS) Amitabh Bachchan usually has his co-stars in awe of him but the Bollywood megastar was Tuesday all praise for budding actress Jacqueline Fernandez, who is a former Miss Sri Lanka.

Bachchan and Jacqueline had worked together in fantasy film "Aladin" and it was then that the 24-year-old impressed the star. 

"From the very first day when we started working on this film 'Aladin', Jacqueline has been an inspiration of how your attitude should be on sets. She was a picture of grace, of dignity, of humour, of togetherness," Bachchan told reporters here. 

"Never throughout the making of the film did I ever notice a frown on her face. She was always with a beautiful smile and she mingled with everyone. She was a source of great inspiration in the sense of what being together is," he said.

"Aladin", which released in 2009, was directed by Sujoy Ghosh and also starred Sanjay Dutt and Ritesh Deshmukh.

Bachchan and Jacqueline, who was dressed in a white sari, were here for an event to announce Sri Lanka as the 2010 destination for the IIFA Awards. 

Cinema is a great integrator: Amitabh

Cinema is a great integrator: Amitabh
By Ruchika Kher

Colombo, April 20 (IANS) Cinema is a great integrator, says Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, here to announce Sri Lanka as the 2010 destination for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards.

"I have always believed that cinema has been a great integrator. When we stand in the line to buy a ticket, we never ask who is giving us the ticket or who will be the person who will be sitting next to us in the hall, whether he will be a Sikh or a Buddhist," said the actor at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel Tuesday. 

"When we sit inside this darkened room called the cinema hall, we enjoy the same things, we appreciate the same songs, we laugh on the same jokes, we cry on the same scenes. 

"This is what cinema represents and I can say that in today's world, which is so fast disintegrated, that there is this one example where integration is present and I am very proud that I'm a small member of this fraternity that brings people together under one roof, under same emotions and builds heart so that we can show examples to nations," he added.

The 67-year-old brand ambassador of IIFA was welcomed with fanfare and colourfully dressed folk dancers who impressed the actor so much that he branded the reception as the best he has ever got in any of the IIFA destinations.

"Everyone is calling Sri Lanka a small country, but I don't believe in that. According to me, it's a very big country because it has a big heart and that makes it big. The kind of reception I have got here is by far the best I have got anywhere else.

"It's a beautiful country and I will urge my fellow industry members to come and explore this beautiful land," said Amitabh.

The IIFA awards will be held from June 3 to 5. Apart from the main award ceremony, a global business forum, a fashion extravaganza, a celebrity cricket match, a film workshop and premieres of upcoming films will also be held. 

Amitabh Bachchan International airport in Katunayake

Bollywood film star Amitabh Bachchan arrives at the International airport in Katunayake, 35 km (22 miles) north of Colombo

This Khan be! Big B mistaken for Shah Rukh

This Khan't be! Big B mistaken for Shah Rukh

New Delhi, April 19 (IANS) To take it as a "compliment or not" that is the question on Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan's mind, who was mistaken as Shah Rukh Khan at the Kuala Lampur International Airport (KLIA).

Big B, as he is fondly called by his fans, was on his way back to Mumbai from Malaysia after a conference where an officer mistook him for Shahrukh.

"Airports are strange places. KLIA is no different from any airport where the staff would immediately recognize any celebrity, except a few exceptions. They mob and ask for pictures and stuff...I oblige...it makes them happy," Amitabh posted on his blog bigb.bigadda.com Monday. 

"They (Malaysians) seem to be obsessed with our cinema and with our artists. One today, uniformed and medalled, walked past me in the crowded duty free, turned back after expressing some recognition and smiled - 'Hello... Mr. Shah Rukh Khan'," he added.

The 67-year-old is now contemplating about how to take the unusual attribution. 

"I am still debating in my head whether I should take this as a compliment or not. For the official to find absolute dedication in his name giving, sends me a healthy feeling," he wrote.