Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan skip IIFA

Will they or won't they? The questions have been making the rounds for the longest period, but no answers were forthcoming either from Abhishek or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. But now it is confirmed that the Junior Bachchans are going to give this year's IIFA event a miss.

Amitabh Bachchan is the brand ambassador of the International Indian Film Academy Awards. And as has been the tradition, the event has been attended by the Bachchan family including Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek and Aishwarya.

In the last few years, many of the big names have been giving it a miss for various reasons. While reports suggested that a fallout in the Shah Rukh Khan - Bachchan relationship may be the reason for the former skipping the event, the marriage of Ash to Abhishek has seen Salman missing the show. But this year, both these actors have been roped in for the various activities at IIFA.

While Shah Rukh Khan was to captain of the celebrity led Indian side for the charity cricket match that will be played against the Sri Lankan cricketers, Salman Khan is the brand ambassador of the charity event of IIFA.

However, there is a very clear reason why Ash and Abhishek both will not be able to attend this year's IIFA at Colombo. According to Ash's official spokesperson, "Ash had confirmed her presence at the finals of the French Open Tennis Championships in advance. Her watch brand is the official time keeper of the Roland Garros event and as such, Ash is required to make an appearance."

And as for Abhishek, he will be shooting for Abhinay Deo's Game in Istanbul. Abhishek has been traveling for some time now. After a short schedule in Greece for the same film, AB flew to Cannes for the annual film festival and is now headed for Istanbul.

Although there will be speculations about the absence of the junior Bachchan pair, given the fact that Shah Rukh and Salman Khan will be present, there is nothing but official commitments that are keeping the duo from this event.