Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan inaugurate Kolkata Film Festival

The 20th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival today kicked off to a dazzling start with a galaxy of Bollywood stars including Amitabh Bachchan, his wife Jaya Bachchan, son Abhishek Bachchan and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Irrfan Khan.

It was for the third consecutive time that Big B inaugurated the festival here. With a smattering of Bengali and reciting lines of Tagore, the megastar, who is shooting Piku in the city these days, wooed the audiences. Amidst loud rounds of applause, even SRK, Aishwarya, Jaya and Abhishek tried their best to say a few words in the Bengali language.

The senior Bachchan said he is proud that all four of them including wife, son and daughter-in-law, had acted in films directed by some well-known Bengali directors. He left the audience in splits as he recounted an old tale of how a Bengali jamindar forgot to bring back his 'dhoti' while trying to bring back the 'chadar' his wife gave him before going to a courtesan.

SRK, also the state's brand ambassador, said, "Kolkata aamar praner shahar. Kolkata film festival aamar praner utsav. Chalo sobai mile eta ke safal kori. (Kolkata is the city of my soul. Kolkata film festival is a celebration of my soul. Come lets make it a success)."

Jaya said coming to KIFF with the whole family was like coming to a family function.

Thousands gathered to watch the glamourous opening of the KIFF at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.