Abhishek Bachchan on Vancouver, Bollywood and Indian actors onscreen

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have led acontingent of South Asian stars to Vancouverthis week for the Times of India Film Awards.

• Bollywood stars touch down in Vancouver for awards

The Bollywood power couple is expected to be joined by famous peers such as Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Boman Irani during the three-day cinematic celebration.

Popular actor Bachchan, son of Indian cinema icons Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, arrived with his wife and their young daughter Aaradhya earlier this week. On Tuesday, he jumped right into rehearsals for the couple's awards-gala performance at B.C. Place Stadium. Set for Saturday, thehighly anticipated appearancemarks Rai Bachchan's first international performance since the birth of their child.

In the video above, Bachchan talks to CBC's Ian Hanomansing about being somewhat incognito in Vancouver, Bollywood's place on the world stage and seeing Indian faces on North American film and TV.

The B.C. government ispaying $9.5 million to bring the awards show to Vancouver. The 2013 Times of India Awards celebrations kick off Thursday with an extravaganza featuring dozens of local dancers.

Bollywood choreographer Shiamak Davar, who lives in Vancouver part-time, says he was surprised at the level of talent he found amongB.C. dancers.

The Times of India film awards are voted on by the newspaper's readers, making them similar to the People's Choice Awards. More than 200 million people are expected to watchSaturday's gala worldwide.