Diamond-studded business card for Aishwarya!

The IIFA weekend in Bangkok has more surprises in store…Read on!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan would be smiling all the way to Bangkok for the Idea IIFA 2008 award night, this June. Celebrating its association with IIFA, Gitanjali Lifestyle is reportedly presenting an exclusive diamond-studded Business card to Ash at the award night. The business card is studded with a fine blend of 7900 diamonds and 40 grams of gold, costing approximately Rs. 1 crore.

Brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan would be welcoming this year's IIFA delegation with the gracious Thai greeting, "Sawadee ka", which in English translates to “Hello”.

The IIFA weekend has more surprises in store. Nobel Laureate Dr. R.K.Pachauri will be honoured with the IIFA Global Leadership Award. Indian and Thailand business leaders are to meet at the FICCI IIFA Global Business Forum and top Indian designers would be showcasing their creations at the IIFA Fashion Extravaganza.

This year, the Bachchan clan would be premiering the much-awaited, much-hyped 'Sarkar Raj' in Bangkok. Speaking on his association with IIFA, Amitabh Bachchan said, "It's not just another film award. It's an award that would match up to the Academy Awards. Cinema is a medium that brings people together. When we are looking at the screen, we are mesmerised and caught in the magic of it. It does not matter who is on the seat next to us...what our medium does is, in a way, go on to strengthening bonds. And IIFA, by going global, is working on bridging the gap.”

Shyam Benegal (outstanding contribution to Indian cinema), AR Rahman (outstanding contribution by an Indian in international cinema) and Mumtaz (lifetime achievement award) will be honoured.

‘Guru’, ‘Chak De India’, ‘Jab We Met’, ‘Om Shanti Om’, ‘Life In A Metro’ and ‘Partner’ will be fighting for best picture category. For best performance (male) Abhishek Bachchan (‘Guru’), Akshay Kumar (‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’), Salman Khan (‘Partner’), Shah Rukh Khan (‘Chak De India’) and Shahid Kapoor (‘Jab We Met’) are the nominees. Aishwarya Rai (‘Guru’), Deepika Padukone (‘Om Shanti Om’), Kareena Kapoor (‘Jab We Met’), Tabu (‘Cheeni Kum’) and Vidya Balan (‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’) will fight it out for the best actress award.

Debutant actor Harman Baweja and Priyanka Chopra will showcase Harry Baweja's ‘Love Story 2050’; Aftab Shivadasani, Riteish Deshmukh and Ayesha Takia will dance to the ‘De Taali’ beats; the ‘Mission Istanbul’ cast of Zayed Khan, Vivek Oberoi and Shriya Saran would be staging their bit, and 'Acid Factory' will have Dia Mirza, Fardeen Khan, Dino Morea and Aftab Shivdasani showcasing their moves!