NEW DELHI: After several delays due to the ongoing pandemic, the fifty-first edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is all set to begin in Goa on Saturday.
The nine-day event, which is also recognised as Asia's oldest film festival, will feature several extraordinary films made by renowned filmmakers. It will begin by paying tributes to twenty-eight cinema luminaries from across the world who passed away in 2020.
This section will feature Basu Chatterjee’s Chhoti si baat, Nishikant Kamat’s Dombivali Fast, Manmohan Mahapatra’s Bhija Matira Swarga as a tribute to the noted filmmakers to mark their contribution to Indian cinema. Satyajit Ray’s Charulata, Ghare Baire and Sonar Kella will also be screened to honour legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee who passed away in November last year. Veteran actor Shreeram Lagoo, who was a stalwart in Marathi cinema, will be remembered with his iconic performance in Mrinal Sen's Ek Din Achanak.
Noted actors Kumkum, Jagdeep Brahmachari, Yogesh Gaur, Rishi Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Sushant Singh Rajput, Ajit Das, Bijay Mohanty, costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, lyricist and Urdu poet Rahat Indori, choreographer Saroj Khan, singer S P Balasubrahmanyam and music composer Wajid Khan are among other film personalities who will be remembered through the films they contributed to. This section will feature movies like Tara, Gandhi, Chillika Teeray, Paan Singh Tomar, Bhramachari, Basant Bahar, Mission Kashmir, Bobby, Devdas, Sigaram, Kedarnath and Dabangg.
Apart from the 19 eminent artistes of cinema from India, IFFI will also pay homage to nine film personalities from other countries as well. This includes Chadwick Boseman, Ivan Passer, Goran Paskaljevic, Allen Daviau, Max Von Sydow, Sir Alan Parker, Kirk Douglas, Ennio Morricone and Olivia De Havilland.
IFFI is conducted every year to celebrate some of the finest cinematic works and showcases a bouquet of best films from India and around the world. The event was earlier scheduled to be held in November 2020 but had to be postponed due to the pandemic. It is now being organised in a hybrid manner with both physical and virtual segments. Some of the sections will be screened on OTT platforms and the audience can witness it online. The opening and closing ceremonies will be held on-ground with a smaller audience and a live broadcast.
A total of 224 films will be screened under different sections. Saand Ki Aankh, directed by Tushar Hiranandani and featuring Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar, will be the opening movie for the Panorama section at the festival.
