Bollywood's star couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai are proud to have lent support to the inaugural amfAR gala to raise funds for the Foundation for AIDS Research programme.

The gala was held here Sunday in the presence of international names like Sharon Stone, Hilary Swank, Kesha and Kenneth Cole.

"This is first event of amfAR in India and I am confident we will have several more to come in our country. I hope we all collectively raise funds, spread awareness and strengthen the force," Aishwarya told reporters during the amfAr event Sunday evening.

Adding to this, Abhishek said: "We are honoured to be here today and we both feel strongly about the disease HIV. It's a matter of pride to raise funds for this cause and spread the awareness."

The black tie event, held at the Taj Mahal Palace and Hotel here featured a cocktail reception, dinner, and a gold-themed fashion show featuring exclusive looks by Rohit Bal, Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla, and Tarun Tahiliani.

The evening concluded with a high-energy performance by pop sensation Ke$ha, whose songs including her hits `Animal,` `We R Who We R,` and `Tik Tok,` had guests dancing into the night.

Aishwarya was especially thankful to Sharon Stone, who is amfAR's global fundraising chair.

"It's very generous of her. We salute her passion to drive so passionately towards this cause. She is worthy of salutation," said the former beauty queen.

From Bollywood, Sophie Choudry, Dino Morea and Nargis Fakhri were in attendance.