Amitabh Bachchan was a busy man at the first day of IIFA awards in Macau.

“It is wonderful and lovely to be back here. I am looking forward to the IIFA. The people are very nice and they were very generous to us when we came here for the press conference,” Bachchan, who is the brand ambassador of IIFA, said.

At the press conference, the superstar kicked off the three-day event with his usual vigor. He stressed on the need to stop constant comparison of Hindi films with Hollywood. “Why can’t we be proud of what we are doing rather than comparing ourselves with others? The west is west and the east is east. Let both of them exist in their own world. What is wrong with the Indians?” the actor questioned rhetorically. Big B also spoke about the richness of our own cinema and the need to retain the identity that’s unique to Indian films.

The superstar’s speech apparently impressed the Australian singer-songwriter Peter Andre very much. Andre said at the conference: “I was unbelievably impressed with some of the speeches people gave. You sir (looking and pointing at Amitabh)…have such an amazing way of speaking and making everyone listen…you have a fantastic voice. Sir, you are just amazing.” André will perform at a fashion event at IIFA and will also give away an award on the final day.

Also, Amitabh Bachchan’s wax figure, which was unveiled at the Madame Tussauds museum in New York last month, has been especially flown in to be showcased at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards event at Macau. Amitabh’s wax figure, dressed in a traditional black sherwani suit with a heavily embroidered gold and black shawl, is the first figure to be part of Madame Tussauds New York’s all-new Bollywood Zone. The wax figure was placed in the center of the green carpet on the first day of the event.
Celebrities, dignitaries as well as members of the audience grabbed a chance to pose with the statue, which will be here for three days. The IIFA, which began Thursday, will end Saturday.
Amitabh, who is IIFA brand ambassador, and his son Abhishek as well as daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai too posed with the statue as they walked the IIFA green carpet.