IIFA gifts Amitabh a gondola ride and a large suite

BUOYED: Amitabh's song Do lafzon ki hai from the film The Great Gambler is a timeless hit.

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Macau (China): It was in 1979 that Amitabh Bachchan enjoyed a gondola ride on the famed waterways of Venice for a song sequence in a Hindi film - and 30 years later the Bollywood superstar relived the ride on Friday, but this time in Macau!

"After Venice, I have experienced a gondola after 30 years at the Venetian Macau. It was an enchanting experience. I sat on the gondola 30 years back to shoot the song Do lafzon ki hai for my film The Great Gambler(1979). The song for the film not only made the Venetian gondola popular, but Venice as well," Amitabh said on the sidelines of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) press meet here on Friday.

Directed by Shakti Samanta, The Great Gambler starred Zeenat Aman and Neetu Singh in the lead and had Amitabh in a double-role.

Despite the big names involved, the film did not set the cash registers ringing but got etched in audiences' minds for its romantic songs by R D Burman and the picturesque locales.

"After 30 years, today IIFA is going to do the same thing to the Venetian Macau what it (the song) did to Venice then. It was a very interesting and exciting ride," the actor said at the press conference held at the plush Venetian Macao Resort-Hotel, which will host the three-day IIFA weekend June 11-13.

IIFA aims at taking Indian cinema beyond Indian shores and this year it is celebrating its 10th year in Macau after having travelled to countries like Britain, South Africa, Singapore, Dubai and Thailand in previous years.

Amitabh is the brand ambassador for IIFA and this is the 66-year-old's first visit to Macau. He is staying at the Venetian Macao Resort-Hotel, which covers a 100,000 square feet area and boasts of having one of the largest casinos in the world. The actor says he is enjoying every bit of being there as it has been his dream for many years to visit the city.

The IIFA weekend, organised by Wizcraft Entertainment Pvt Ltd and to be sponsored by Videocon, is expected to draw over 500 luminaries from the Indian film industry.

Indian cinema, a great unifier:

Indian cinema was considered "infradig" several decades ago, but it has become the "best example of national integration" as it brings people of different castes and communities together, Amitabh Bachchan said at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) press meet.