While Indians across the globe may still be recovering from their country's loss at the World Cup yesterday, Goa in India’s West Coast had to recoup quicker since they had to gear up to welcome stars from around the globe for the 54th edition of the International Indian Film Festival Of India (IFFI).
The nine-day film festival, which opens on Monday night with the international premiere of British film ‘Catching Dust’, will host talents including Hollywood legend Michael Douglas, his wife and actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, Bollywood movie mogul Karan Johar and actors including Pankaj Tripathi, Rani Mukerji, and Vijay Sethupathi.
The festival will kick off with a star-studded opening ceremony and will see performances by Bollywood stars Madhuri Dixit and Shahid Kapoor. Stars including Nushratt Bharucha, Shriya Saran, Shantanu Moitra, Shreya Ghoshal, and Sukhwinder Singh will also perform at the opening ceremony. The gala event will also see Bollywood heavyweights like Salman Khan, Vidya Balan, Vicky Kaushal, Siddharth Malhotra, Aditi Rao Hyadri, and Ayushmann Khurrana attend. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur will inaugurate this event.
Karan Johar and Sara Ali Khan are expected to unveil the first look of ‘Ae Watan Mere Watan’ during the opening ceremony. Actor Vijay Sethupathi will also introduce the trailer of his film ‘Gandhi Talks’ to the discerning cinephile guests.
The action isn’t limited to the opening ceremony.
As many as 270 movies from around the globe will be screened during the IFFI. For the first time ever, a Best Series Award will also be given to celebrate content on streaming platforms.
Hollywood star Michael Douglas, whose credits include ‘Wall Street’, ‘Fatal Attraction’, ‘Basic Instinct’ and ‘Romancing The Stone’ will be honoured with Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Cinema. In the past, this distinction has been bestowed on Hollywood filmmaker Martin Scorsese and Spain’s Carlos Saura.
This celebrated festival will also see a string of Masterclasses with talents including Johar, Zoya Akhtar, and Pankaj Tripathi.
Gulf News will be on the ground covering the festival. Stay tuned for details.
