MUMBAI: Following the non-participation of its brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan in the last year’s International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards in Sri Lanka, the Academy has done away with the concept of having a brand ambassador. That means that Bachchan will not be the brand ambassador of the event at Canada in this year’s awards function.

Clarifying the matter ,Wizcraft Entertainment director Sabbas Joseph said in a statement, “Due to unexplainable reasons, Bachchan couldn‘t participate in the IIFA Weekend in Sri Lanka last year. His reason for non-participation is best known to him. Following this, IIFA aborted the concept of a Brand Ambassador. Keeping in mind the huge respect that Wizcraft and IIFA have for Mr. Bachchan and the deep relationship that we‘ve always shared, we are not having anyone replace Mr. Bachchan.”

“The Bachchan family has been an intrinsic part of IIFA every year and in this regard we have already shared with them a proposal about their participation this year too. IIFA and Mr.Bachchan are inseparable. We will continue to pursue his participation for this year too,‘ Joseph added.

Wizcraft entertainment organises IIFA every year while Bachchan has been the brand ambassador of the IIFA awards since its inception in 2000.