Amitabh Bachchan has just seen his favourite film "Black" with the Dutch. And he can't get over the experience!

Bachchan said: "I was in Amsterdam to address a press conference to introduce this year's International Indian Film Academy (IFFA) awards that 191 journalists from all over the world attended. Then we had a special screening of 'Black'. I have no words to describe the experience. It was attended by a 400-strong all-white Dutch audience.

"To say they were rapturous would be an understatement. I've never seen such a strong emotional response to any film among any international gathering, let alone an Indian audience. The Dutch watched `Black' in pin-drop silence. Believe me, no one moved...they were so moved!"

"People were surreptitiously wiping their tears. I was sitting in the last row. I was so moved by their response that I wanted to sneak out before the audience would see me. I'd have broken down right there. But they all stood up and turned around to look... and they kept applauding for what seemed like forever. It was the most moving experience of my life," he said on telephone from Amsterdam.

But the best in Amsterdam was yet to come.

"I went out on the streets and rode on a bicycle...it was something I hadn't done for 40 years," laughed India's mega-star who can't dream of indulging in such luxuries at home.

"Cycling through the narrow cobbled streets is almost a past-time in Amsterdam. It was great fun. There I was cycling away, with the media in hot pursuit."

His pleasurable laughter rang loud and clear all the way from Amsterdam.

"The film 'Black' has given a new look and respectability to Indian cinema. Now Rani Mukherjee and I have Shaad Ali's `Bunty Aur Babli', which is totally antithetical in theme and mood to `Black'. Quite a departure for both of us," observed Bachchan before catching his flight to London where he will be joined by wife Jaya Bachchan before proceeding to New York.

Earlier this week, Bachchan flew out of India for a retrospective of his films at the Lincoln Film Centre. After the stopover at Amsterdam Friday, he left for New York via London Saturday.