Goa provides the perfect set for moviegoers as IFFI 2015 kicks off
VISUAL EXTRAVAGANZA Bollywood steals the show; 234 films from across the world will be screened at the 10-day festival
PANJIM: Men of trade know a cine festival is in town.
Contractors are supplying the typical Goan sunny yellow in cans to workers; little overbridges on the way to a theatre in Taleigao, the venue of the 46th IFFI opening ceremony, are getting a fresh daub of paint; cabbies are playing the local card and telling tourists to combine a beach trip with cinema-going. And they were not the only one.
Without naming any one, Goa chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar, attending the festival, made a pitch for Goan film-makers who “make 8-10 films every year which appear in the Indian Panorama section and have won national awards.”
The evening began with his welcome to Union minister of information and broadcasting, finance and corporate affairs Arun Jaitley, governor Mridula Sinha, actor Anil Kapoor the chief guest, and other dignitaries.
Traditional tributes were paid to doyens of world cinema. If Parsekar talked of Satyajit Ray, Anil Kapoor quoted French auteur Jean Luc Godard whose films he saw as an FTII student.
Reels from old Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikant and Kamal Haasan films were marshalled to show Indian cinema’s range; Shahrukh Khan’s screen-time with Kajol Devgan, Salman Khan’s with Madhuri Dixit
MATHEW BROWN’S FILM ON INDIAN MATHEMATICAL GENIUS, SRINIVASA RAMANUJAN, ‘THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY,’ IS THE OPENING FILM OF THE FESTIVAL.
also rolled on stage to showcase Bollywood’s flamboyant treatment of love.
Bollywood was the spine of the show. Ayushman Khurana in a tuxedo and pouf anchored the ceremony with Aditi Rao Hydari, who gave an etymological twist to the word ‘cinema’ which she said was “cine-ma, the mother of all visual expressions”.
The 10- day festival till November 30 will screen 187 movies in the World Cinema section and 47 in the Indian Panorama section.
Mathew Brown’s film on Indian mathematical genius, Srinivasa Ramanujan, ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity,’ is the opening film of the festival. ‘Court’, India’s Oscar entry, will be screened at the festival.