Now, a Dutch tulip called Ash

Rai reached here straight after wrapping up the shoot of Provoked in London.

IIFA, regarded India’s equivalent of the Oscars, started with a press conference chaired by brand ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, who stressed ties between the two countries in entertainment and tourism. ‘‘Over 30,000 Indian visitors come to Holland every year. This year, that number should cross 90,000,’’ he said.

In fact, it’s been raining Bollywood stars at Amsterdam. While traditional champagne choppers — they slice the cork of the champagne bottle with a sword — toasted Rai as the latest tulip in town, the promos of Salman Khan’s Hollywood film Marigold were showcased to the international media. ‘‘God bless IIFA. I’m very emotional today,’’ said Khan.

Shahid Kapoor managed to get some crowd shots of the bustling Dam Square while Saif Ali Khan was roaming freely with ladylove Rosa. Abhishek Bachchan was waiting in the hotel lobby of Hotel Grand for good friend Karan Johar to arrive. Johar, Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar anchored a workshop on Indian cinema. Day one also marked the launch of Marijke de Vos and Johan Manschot’s book, Behind the Scenes of Hindi Cinema. The editor and graphic designer team of Vos and Manschot has complied a collection of Indian poster making art. Bachchan, who has also written a foreword, released the book. The big audience draw of the day was the premiere of Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Parineeta.

And, Salman Khan on Bollywood-Hollywood crossover — ‘‘Maybe if we make movies in English or cut the songs…But I doubt it. And anyway, who cares.’’