Amitabh Bachchan Rewarded in Amsterdam for his Contribution to Indian Cinema

After being honoured with the Global Diversity Award in London, the veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was conferred with yet another award in Amsterdam.

The 70-year-old actor was rewarded for his contribution to Indian cinema at the International Broadcasters Conference (IBC) in Amsterdam, on 13 September.

The IBC 2013, which is being held from 12 to 17 September, honoured Bachchan during an exclusive session dedicated to celebrating the hundredth anniversary of Indian cinema.

"It is most humbling, yet I feel undeserving... but an honour such as this is a reflection of the greatness of the Indian Film Industry of which I am but a very small contributor," Amitabh Bachchan wrote on his Facebook page.

He got nostalgic about Amsterdam, the city where he has shot for some of his famous films.

"Amsterdam... the city that resides a few feet below the sea level, a city that boasts of the incredible tulip gardens...of my shootings here for 'The Great Gambler' and 'Silsila', of the IFFA awards and so many memorable visits to this quaint yet beautiful city...a pity I cannot stay longer..."

The IBC session, titled 100 Years of Indian Cinema: Creative Evolution and Global Markets, reviewed the living history of Indian cinema and showed clips from prominent films of the last hundred years, showing that the Indian film industry is much more than Bollywood.

"There are certain set perceptions about Indian cinema, beyond Indian shores" said Bachchan. "The truth is that it is the breadth of styles and genres that makes the Indian cinema industry so vibrant and so culturally exciting," Bachchan, who played the important role of Meyer Wolfsheim in the 2013 film The Great Gatsby, said.

IBC officials described the actor as "one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of Indian cinema."

"Starting out in the 1970's playing an angry young man, Amitabh Bachchan has appeared in more than 180 movies: the French Director François Truffaut once called him 'a one-man industry'. His fame has spread beyond India," IBC said in a statement.

The event was also attended by Ashi Dua, who is the producer of the film, Bombay Talkies, an official tribute to the first 100 years of Indian cinema.

Bollywood is celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema in 2013; the country's first film, Raja Harishchandra, by Dadasheb Phalke was released on 3 May, 1913.