“To unfurl the national flag is a matter of pride and great honour for every Indian and to be a part of such a prestigious occasion and do the honours outside your nation in a foreign land is even more special," Rani says.
The annual Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) recently announced the multi-talented actor Rani Mukerji as the Chief Guest for this year. As per tradition, the Chief Guest of the festival is the one who hoists the Indian national flag at Melbourne's main public square. This year, the honour to hoist the flag will be given to the Rani Mukerji who has also been nominated under the Best Actress category for her outstanding performance in 'Hichki'.
Rani will hoist the flag in front of thousands of Indian-Australians and people from the subcontinent diaspora who throng federation square every year on August 11 just to see the hoisting of their national flag. Taking into consideration the weekend, every year IFFM ensures to celebrate the Indian Independence week at the iconic landmark. She will be in the company of the High Commissioner of India in Australia and The Mayor of Melbourne.
Each year, the Flag Hoisting is always the most anticipated and definitely a goosebump inducing moment and this year Rani's fans will have the privilege of not only seeing her live but also unfurling the tricolour.
The flag hoisting ceremony will be followed by its popular annual Bollywood dance contest which awards local dancing talents from Australia. The fest will hold masterclasses, panel discussions on cinema and conversations with guests stars including Hirani, Ram Charan and Rani.
“To unfurl the national flag is a matter of pride and great honour for every Indian and to be a part of such a prestigious occasion and do the honours outside your nation in a foreign land is even more special. I’m delighted ,honoured, extremely humbled that they have chosen me to do the honours this year. I am really looking forward to be there at Federation Square in the company of all the Indian-Australian people, ” Rani said in a statement.
Freida Pinto, Vicky Kaushal, Ram Charan, Richa Chadha, RajKumar Hirani, Ali Fazal, Simi Grewal and Malaika Arora are a few more names who would be attending IIFM. This year the festival will honour Shashi kapoor and Sridevi, the two loved actors of Bollywood who passed away recently, by holding special screenings of their two iconic films "Siddhartha" and "Chandni".
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