In his signature baritone, megastar Amitabh Bachchan set the stage alive at the opening ceremony of the fifth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a heartwarming poem written by lyricist Prasoon Joshi.

This is the actor's first stage appearance after undergoing abdominal surgery. He looked hale and hearty as he came on stage dressed in velvet coat and trousers, to recite "Janam Yadhi Phir Se Mile".

The 69-year-old was accompanied by dancers from the Shiamak Davar troupe, who described the essence of the poem through their performance.

Pop icon Katy Perry has landed in India for her show at the opening of the fifth season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) -- and says she is honoured to be in the country.

After taking a flight from Tokyo, she tweeted: "After what felt like longest flight ever I'm finally here! Honoured to play Chennai! This is my first performance in India."

The 27-year-old, set to enthrall the audience with her hits like "Fireworks" and "California Gurls", arrived here Monday.

Singing reality show "Indian Idol" enters its sixth season and the three judges - Salim Merchant, Anu Malek and Sunidhi Chauhan - say the focus this time will be on the power of the voice and not on the looks.

Sunidhi feels in a bid to discover a complete package - a mix of good voice and looks - the judges missed out on true singing talents and that is the reason they are not giving much importance to looks.

Glitz, glamour and game. The opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament will see a lot of fireworks in Chennai Tuesday - from American pop icon Katy Perry's performance to Indian dancing sensation Prabhu Deva's act to Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan's poetry recitation.

If that is not enough, Bollywood stars Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and music band Colonial Cousins are geared up to set the stage afire.