Panaji: The wait for Cinephiles ended as the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) was declared open on the scenic coasts of Goa’s capital Panaji in the luminous presence of much-admired film personalities and passionate cinema enthusiasts.
Colourful programmes showcasing India’s cultural synergy and diversity enthused all and made a grand start to celebrating creativity and cinematic brilliance.
IFFI this year pays homage to the extraordinary legacy of Raj Kapoor, Tapan Sinha, Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR), and Mohammed Rafi through a series of tributes, screenings, and interactive events, providing the delegates with a closer look at the contributions of these legendary film personalities to the world of cinema.
A special stamp on these four stalwarts of Indian cinema was unveiled by Information & Broadcasting Secretary Sanjay Jaju, along with Special Secretary, Information & Broadcasting, Neerja Sekhar; Chief Post Master General (CPMG), Maharashtra Postal Circle, Amitabh Singh; Managing Director of the National Film Development Corporation, Prithul Kumar; Joint Secretary (Films), Vrunda Manohar Desai; Festival Director, Shekhar Kapur; Nagarjuna (renowned actor and son of Akkineni Nageswar Rao); and Firdaus Rafi, Daughter-in-law of legendary playback singer Mohammed Rafi.
“It’s a great feeling that IFFI is celebrating four legends of Indian cinema this year,” I& B Secretary Sanjay Jaju said.
The film festival commenced this evening with the screening of renowned Australian filmmaker Michael Gracey’s feature film Better Man. The film is a cinematic tribute to resilience, fame, and the extraordinary life of British pop legend Robbie Williams.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Sanjay Jaju, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Vrunda Desai, Festival Director IFFI, Shekhar Kapoor and Vice-Chairman of the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), Delilah M. Lobo, felicitated the film’s producer Paul Currie and actress Raechelle Banno.
In his address before the screening, Paul Currie remarked, “The film is not about how the world perceives Robbie, but rather about how Robbie perceives himself.” He further expressed his enthusiasm for presenting the film at this esteemed platform. Raechelle Banno shared, “IFFI holds great significance for me, and I am thrilled to present this film to all of you.” The director of the film, Michael Gracey, joining via video call, stated, “Bollywood cinema has had a profound influence on my work.”
Some of the Cineworld’s brightest stars were felicitated in the presence of cinema-worshippers in the gala opening ceremony hosted by popular film personalities Abhishek Banerjee and Bhumi Pednekar.
“Let’s tell each other our stories,” urged film stalwart and Festival Director Shekhar Kapur. He said, “Within a nation and nations and communities in a polarized world, the only way to talk to each other is by telling our stories.” This will bring us closer to each other and solve a lot of problems in the world, and so we have to continue organising film festivals, opined the renowned filmmaker. India has the biggest film industry and is the greatest content makers and content consumers in the world, he further said. Kapur urged to celebrate not just film-makers, but also audiences in this film festival.
Film stalwarts Subhash Ghai, Chidanand Naik, Boman Irani, R K Selvamani, Jaideep Ahlawat, Jayam Ravi, Ishari Ganesh, R. Sarath Kumar, Pranita Subhash, Jackky Bhagnani, Rakul Preet Singh, Randeep Hooda and Rajkummar Rao were felicitated for their immense contributions to cinema.
In a video message, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said India can play a major role in shaping the creators’ economy with the integration of technology and the development of a robust curators’ ecosystem. According to him, there was much focus on developing the content creators’ economy, which is vibrant and rapidly growing. “People are coming up with innovative content that showcases India’s diverse cultures, cuisines, rich heritage, and gems of Indian literature and languages in interesting and creative ways”, he said.
– global bihari bureau
