IFFI kickstarts on a glamorous note

The 42nd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) kickstarted on a glamourous note on Wednesday as actors Shah Rukh Khan and Rituparna Sengupta came in for the inaugural day, as did several political honchos including Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni, and Chief Minister of Goa, Digambar Kamat. 

Hosted by actors Rahul Khanna and Tisca Chopra, the event showcased the cultural diversity of the country through several special performances. Shah Rukh expressed his happiness on being a part of the cinematic fest and spoke about his experiences at film fiestas and the growth of cinema as a whole.

The next segment of the event presented the international jury panel comprising of luminary filmmakers like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Dan Wolman from Israel, Lawrence Kardish from USA, Lee Yong Kwan from the Busan Film Festival and Tahmineh Milani from Iran. French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier was also conferred with the Lifetime Achievement award. This was followed by the screening of the festival’s opening film The Consul of Bordeaux directed by Francisco Manso and Joao Correa.