Big B to skip IIFA

Ending weeks of speculation, Bollywood superstar and IIFA Brand Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan said he will not attend the IIFA events in Colombo, India’s NDTV reported.

Bachchan had been targeted by Tamil groups who staged protests outside his residence in Mumbai last month and asked the actor to stay away from IIFA in Colombo.

Later last month Bachchan wrote in his blog that he would respect everyone's sentiments.

IIFA 2010, meant to showcase Sri Lanka's emergence from 30 years of civil strife, is fast turning into a bone of contention with some groups in South India expressing their displeasure over the choice of the venue.

The event has already drawn the ire of the Tamil film fraternity, with popular figures like Rajnikanth, Kamal Hassan, Vijay, Ajith and Surya refusing to be associated in any way with IIFA.

A number of stars have already expressed their inability to attend or are keeping their plans under wraps. Shah Rukh Khan and Arjun Rampal are giving IIFA a miss citing prior work commitments. Hrithik now replaces SRK as captain of the Bollywood team that will play a charity cricket match involving Indian and Sri Lankan movie and cricket stars.

According to reports, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan are also busy with other assignments and will skip IIFA this year.