COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Some of India's top movie stars converged in Sri Lanka on Thursday for Bollywood's annual roadshow despite calls to boycott the event because of the alleged killing of Tamil civilians during the final stages of the country's decades-long civil war.
Viveik Oberoi, Ritesh Deshmukh, Bipasha Basu and Dia Mirza were some of the stars to inaugurate the three-day International Indian Film Academy, or IIFA, festivities, which include a fashion show, charity cricket match, and the awards ceremony Saturday night.
Some actors and directors from India's southern state of Tamil Nadu had asked Bollywood stars to boycott the event, citing alleged killings by Sri Lankan forces of ethnic Tamil civilians as the island's 25-year civil war wound down last year.
Sri Lanka's military defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils, who have family and cultural links with the people of Tamil Nadu.
Bollywood's biggest star Amitabh Bachchan, IIFA's brand ambassador, his actor son Abhishek and daughter-in-law, former Miss World and actress Aishwarya Rai, will not participate, according to Indian media reports. Actor Shah Rukh Khan will also not partake.
Busy schedules were cited for their non-participation.
Sabbas Joseph, director of Wizcraft International that owns IIFA, said the event was "challenged" this year but he vowed to overcome.
Oberoi told reporters Thursday he had concerns before coming to Sri Lanka, but was now convinced the decision to attend was the right one.
He said IIFA plans to channel funds raised from the charity cricket match to a program called "Cricket for Children," aimed at rehabilitating former Tamil Tiger child soldiers through the game.
"There were doubts in many people (but) any platform that does good is a good platform," Oberoi said.
IIFA will choose a village in war-torn northern Vavuniya town to build 100 houses, and plans to extend the effort to other battle-affected areas, he said.
Sri Lanka's national cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara and teammates Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan will play in the charity match Friday against film stars such as Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra and Preity Zinta.
"I applaud you for your courage and conviction in facing those challenges and showing up in Sri Lanka," said Sangakkara, addressing the Indian actors.
The IIFA festival is held in different countries each year to introduce Indian cinema to the world and integrate communities. Last year it was held in Macau.
