IIFA Awards 2013: Amitabh Bachchan to grace ceremony in Macau?

Looks like all’s well between Big B and Wizcraft, and the Bollywood legend might return as the face of IIFA in its 14th edition

After a decade-long association with the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, Amitabh Bachchan, then the brand ambassador of the annual event, had a tiff with organisers Wizcraft International Entertainment. This was because the Bachchan family had refused to go to Sri Lanka for the awards in 2010 owing to some opposition to Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s film Raavan in the neighbouring country.

And so, Salman Khan had famously taken over the mantle from Big B, and was seen everywhere at the Sri Lankan IIFA Weekend. But last year again, the big stars of Bollywood like Amitabh, Salman, Shahrukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Akshay Kumar (Aamir Khan doesn’t attend award ceremonies) missed the event. It was evident that the IIFA party was losing sheen.

It seems now Sabbas Joseph of Wizcraft has called a truce and Big B is likely to be the face of the international Bollywood awards ceremony again. And Bachchan will make his comeback at a familiar venue – The Venetian Macao hotel in Macau, where the 2009 IIFA Weekend was held.

Looks like Wizcraft preferred to go with Macau looking at its experience with The Venetian, and rejected Vancouver’s bid earlier this year. Let’s see if Shahrukh and Salman will turn up for the IIFA Awards 2013!

IIFA Awards 2013: Deepika Padukone, Madhuri Dixit-Nene and Sridevi to dazzle on stage!

Abhishek Bachchan will join the ladies at the Macau extravaganza along with Prabhu Deva

We told you how Amitabh Bachchan and family seemed to have buried the hatchet with Wizcraft – organisers of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards. So it was expected that Big B, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan will be present at this year’s extravaganza in Macau.

Abhishek might host the ceremony with Jacqueline Fernandez (not confirmed) and also perform on stage at the IIFA Awards 2013, to be held from July 4-6 at The Venetian Macao hotel. Joining Abhishek will be B-town divas Deepika Padukone, Madhuri Dixit-Nene and Sridevi in acts choreographed by Remo Fernandes.

Ace choreographer-actor-director Prabhu Deva will also showcase some of his best moves at the 14th edition of the popular awards show.

The IIFA this year will celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema. Madhuri will perform to some of her best numbers, including Ek do teen, Dance of envy and the recent Ghagra. She says, “I have never been to an IIFA before and I’m very excited to be performing on the IIFA stage for the first time. I think that it a great fit especially since we’re celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema.”

Deepika too, is thrilled to be on stage at this year’s ceremony. She says, “I’ll be performing to some of my favourite songs from my recent release Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Cocktail. This will also be my first visit to Macau and I hope my fans enjoy my performance.”

It looks like it is gonna be a lot of fun at the IIFA Weekend in Macau this time! Watch this space for more updates.