Bollywood, Katy Perry open IPL-V

Tens of thousands of people at the YMCA ground cheered lustily as Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Prabhudeva, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra went through their routines during a pulsating two-hour colourful ceremony.

Perry, whose short-lived marriage in India took place two years ago, injected energy into the crowd with her desi chic blingy choli, maang tikka and bindis and her top single "Teenage Dream".

The opening ceremony set the tone for the tournament beginning Wednesday that features nine teams and some of the world's best cricketers.

Amitabh, who made his first large-scale public appearance post his abdominal surgeries, set the mood for the show by rendering a poem penned by Prasoon Joshi. His words were aimed to bring the spirit of cricket alive, and Big B's baritone only added more soul to it.

Amitabh 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.

Following this, musical duo Colonial Cousins put together an energetic symphony of sounds with DJ Ravi Drums and South African percussionist group 1st Project.

Priyanka put up a mesmerizing performance on her latest hits, and stunned the audience with an aerial act. She set the mood for some dancing as she moved around in the audience, urging cricketers to dance.

Priyanka took the packed audience by surprise when she went up in the air during her performance, and got cricketer Harbhajan Singh to dance a little jig with her.