New Delhi: Bollywood screen idol Amitabh Bachchan on Tuesday urged India to collectively combat global warming and make the world a better place to live in.
Bachchan speaking at a news conference held in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi, ahead of the eight festival of International Indian Film Academy (IIFA), lauded the academy for its stand in bringing forth issues of global warming and climate change.
"What has impressed me this year most about IIFA has been the fact that IIFA has recognised the importance of global warming and has tied up with Global Cool, an organisation that is working towards making our planet a better place to live in. We've been very impressed by the efforts made by Global Cool and I would like to stress to members of our community here and members of the media to try and inform and stretch this wonderful thought of people coming together and working towards this very dangerous aspect that is looming ahead of us," he said.
This year the IIFA weekend, which is being held in Yorkshire from June 7th to 10th will not only see the Award function with performances by Indian actors, but will include a Global Business Forum.
The forum of heavyweights from the United Kingdom and the Indian business fraternity will address issues concerning trade and highlight issues of climate change that threaten our world.
Bachchan added with the pace at which India was progressing economically he feared that very shortly the country would be high up in the emission of deadly gases.
The UN Environment Program (UNEP) has issued stark warnings about the impact of climate change -- widely blamed on human emissions of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels -- with dire forecasts from hunger in Africa to a fast thaw in the Himalayas.
India is one of the largest emitters of carbon- dioxide, after United States, China and Russia.
Speaking on the host location Yorkshire for the IIFA Weekend, Bachchan said he was confident that this year as well will prove fruitful in bridging communities, cultures and countries.
"We've had previous speakers from here talking about the other good effects and the other achievements of the county. But truly it is the people of Yorkshire that have impressed me the most. And I am sure that when IIFA and the entire film industry arrives at its doors, they will receive the traditional Yorkshire welcome that Judith and so many others have so warmly put across," he said.
The IIFA Foundation Celebrity Cricket Match, which will see Asia's cricketing greats with stars from the Indian film fraternity taking on a UK celebrity cricket team, during the second day of the weekend.
The Indian team which will be captained by Bollywood hunk Saif Ali Khan, will include cricketers Kapil Dev, Mohammed Azharuddin and Bollywood actors Hritik Roshan, Abishek Bachchan, to name a few.
The film awards are especially aimed at India's almost-20 million strong Diaspora, that is proving both lucrative and indispensable in efforts to bring Bollywood, the Mumbai-based prolific film industry, to world theatres.
There can be few better symbols than the extravagant awards function for nearly 400 Indian actors, directors, scriptwriters and producers.
The Indian film industry, which makes three times as many films a year as Hollywood, has captivated cinema goers around the world with its escapist musical extravaganzas.
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