As the Netherlands capital celebrates the biggest gathering of Bollywood stars at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, papa and beta (son) Bachchan are in their element.

Why not? The movie, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee, is a great success, after all.

Amitabh told IANS from Amsterdam: "The movie has had a historic opening - the first week's worldwide collection is a stunning Rs.217 million!"

"Apart from grand openings in Delhi and Mumbai, 'Bunty aur babli' has registered an astounding first-week collection in Britain, the US and South Africa. It has done extraordinarily well," beamed an obviously proud Bachchan senior.

Jaya Bachchan, however, couldn't join her husband and son in Amsterdam, because of mother-in-law Teji Bachchan's ill health. "Let the boys have fun," she said.

The starry descent on Amsterdam has opened the floodgates of emotions for the Bollywood-crazy there. And our stars seem to be enjoying every moment of it.

Kareena, effervescent in beau Shahid Kapur's company, and quite oblivious of papa Randhir Kapoor's presence, chimed, "It's just the change I needed."

Karan Johar specially flew in for the Awards from the US, where he's been location-hunting for his next venture.

People in Amsterdam - as elsewhere - just cannot stop talking about the tulip named after Ash.

AB remarked, "It goes to show we, as a cinematic force, are coming of age. Today it's a flower, who knows it may be a garden, tomorrow."

Ash wrapped up shooting for Jagmohan Mundhra's "Provoked" in London, to be in Amsterdam.

Filmmaker J.P. Dutta and wife and former actress Bindiya, flew in from London where the filmmaker is working on his next projects.

Said JP: "I intended to catch up on "Parineeta". But I spent the evening catching up with old friend Vinod Khanna."

Nevertheless, "Parineeta" made its way into the hearts of the Amsterdam audience, and the movie's leading lady Vidya Balan was the instant favourite.

Moreover, getting rave reviews from the "Shehanshah" (king) of Bollywood is a feat in itself. The Big B exclaimed after watching "Parineeta": "For years, I've been watching this girl in advertisements on television, wondering who she is. She is indeed a terrific discovery."