COLOMBO: As Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu, Vivek Oberoi, Boman Irani, Diya Mirza, Jacqueline Fernandez and Ritesh Deshmukh graced reporters at the 1st IIFA press conferences on 3rd June, whispers amongst the crowds speculated as to why the Bachchan's were not attending.

Despite the absent Bachchans, hundreds of international reporters lapped up comments from the celebs attending and roared approval as the Sri Lankan cricket sensation Kumar Sangakkara reiterated IIFA's global message of "one people, one world".

As hoards of fans were seen crowding the five star Cinnamon Grand hotel in

the heart of Colombo to catch a glimpse of their much-loved Bollywood stars, dozens of celb-hungry reporters and photographers lay awaiting opportunities to catch a whiff of the bollycelebs.

The Emerald Island, as Sri Lanka is known, was very much alive and buzzing with the Sri Lanka is hoping to use the glitz of a Bollywood awards ceremony to emerge from the devastation of a quarter century war and re-build its image among global travelers as a serene, sun-bathed Indian Ocean island.

The tear drop-shaped island was buzzing with Bolly fever as they played warm hosts to this year's International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards.

The Sri Lankan government optimistic that the glitz of the Bollywood awards ceremony will assist helping them emerge from the devastation of a quarter century war and re-build its image among global travellers as a serene, sun-bathed Indian Ocean island.

Following the opening press conference there were media briefings for upcoming Indian cinema releases.

The evening of the first day saw celebs strut their stuff on the catwalk in a fashion extravaganza themed as 'Fashion Rocks' in which Salman Khan and Lara Dutta also participated.

The renowned FICCI IIFA Global Business Forum took place on day two and has proved to be a dynamic platform for international business and networking ideal facilitating exchange and dialogue on ideas and innovations.

After a number of film workshops the much-awaited IIFA 2010 charity cricket match was played to rehabilitate Tamil child soldiers and refugees with support of the UNICEF 'Cricket for Children' project.

Bollywood stars and star Sri Lankan cricket team players put on exciting games for a crowd filled Sinhalese Sports Club stadium.

The game saw three teams Sangakkara XI - led by Sri Lankan cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara, Hrithik XI - led by Hrithik Roshan and Suniel XI - led by Suniel Shetty.

Although the Sri Lankan team defeated the celebrity teams, the charity match was a winner for its cause and saw contributions from Reebok of a generous Rs 5 Lakhs and Coke Rs. 2.5 Lakhs towards the IIFA's charity project, IIFA Hands for Humanity - in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity.

Although Salman Khan didn't play in the match, he did not to disappoint the jam-packed stadium of fans; and dropped in on a surprise visit just before the end of the match taking a walk around the field giving his fans a dose of Salman-mania.

Anil Kapoor, Aftab Shivdasani, Vivek Oberoi, Anupam Kher, Bipasha Basu, Boman Irani and Dia Mirza attended the match, giving Bollywood fans of Sri Lanka an eye-candy treat.

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