The
52nd
edition
of
International
Film
Festival
of
India
(IFFI)
started
on
a
high
note
here
on
Saturday
with
electrifying
performances
by
Bollywood
superstar
Salman
Khan,
Ranveer
Singh
and
Shraddha
Kapoor.
The
star-studded
opening
ceremony
of
the
movie
gala,
which
took
place
at
the
Dr
Shyama
Prasad
Mukherjee
Indoor
Stadium,
was
hosted
by
filmmaker
Karan
Johar
and
Maniesh
Paul.
Union
Minister
for
Information
and
Broadcasting
Anurag
Thakur,
Goa
Chief
Minister
Pramod
Sawant,
Governor
of
Goa
P
S
Sreedharan
Pillai
along
with
film
personalities
like
Prasoon
Joshi,
Madhur
Bhandarkar,
Mouni
Roy,
Resul
Pookutty
and
Parineeti
Chopra
attended
the
event.
Thakur
said
IFFI
is
a
great
way
to
showcase
the
country's
soft
power.
"It
is
an
incredible
opportunity
for
India
at
content
creation
and
dissemination
at
all
platforms
and
in
all
regional
languages.
With
this
perspective
in
mind,
the
52nd
IFFI
has
come
together
with
artistes
and
filmmakers
from
around
the
world.
I'm
delighted
to
announce
that
there
are
many
firsts
at
this
year's
edition," the
minister
said.
"IFFI
is
also
embracing
new
technology
and
giving
a
platform
to
new
artists.
In
the
current
edition,
over
300
films
will
be
screened," he
added.
Sawant
said
the
coastal
state
is
working
towards
providing
single
window
clearance
for
film
shooting
in
Goa.
"This
will
allow
Goa
to
become
a
hub
of
shooting
for
filmmakers,"
he
added.
He
also
announced
that
Goa
will
soon
become
the
first
state
to
have
its
entire
population
fully
vaccinated
against
COVID-19.
The
CM
revealed
that
the
state
is
discussing
with
the
centre
to
make
a
film
city
in
Goa.
"We
are
making
efforts
to
establish
a
film
city
and
a
film
institute
here
so
that
there
is
a
talent
pool,
whether
in
film
editing,
photography,
cinematography
or
direction,
available
for
movies,"
he
said.
The
ceremony
saw
veteran
actor-politician
Hema
Malini
getting
the
Indian
Personality
of
the
Year
award.
She
was
felicitated
by
Thakur,
Sawant
and
Minister
of
State
Information
and
Broadcasting
Dr
L
Murugan.
"So
much
good
work
is
happening
here
for
our
film
industry.
It
is
amazing
to
see
young
talented
filmmakers
get
involved
with
IFFI.
I
believe
this
should
continue,"
Malini
said.
Whereas
globally
renowned
filmmakers
Martin
Scorsese
and
Istvan
Szabo
were
honoured
with
the
first-ever
Satyajit
Ray
Lifetime
Achievement
award.
"I
am
honoured
to
receive
such
an
award
named
after
one
of
the
truly
great
filmmakers
of
all
time
and
my
inspiration,
Satyajit
Ray,"
Scorsese
said
in
a
pre-recorded
video
message.
The
multiple
Academy
Award-winning
filmmaker,
best
known
for
his
films
like
"Goodfellas",
"Taxi
Driver",
"Raging
Bull",
"The
Departed"
and
"Shutter
Island",
said
he
has
returned
to
Ray's
cinema
time
and
again
and
every
time
it
has
been
a
"new
experience".
"Watching
'Pather
Panchali' was
a
revelatory
experience
for
me
and
it
opened
a
whole
new
world
for
me,"
he
added.
Szabo,
the
Hungarian
auteur
known
for
making
1981
feature
film
"Mephisto"
that
won
the
best
foreign
language
film
Oscar,
recalled
the
"profound"
discussion
he
had
with
Ray
many
years
ago.
"I
met
Mr
Ray
many
years
ago
in
Madras.
He
invited
my
wife
and
me
for
dinner,
which
was
very
excellent.
We
had
a
fantastic
discussion
about
his
films
and
about
our
profession
-
filmmaking.
It
was
a
profound
discussion,
which
I
will
never
forget.
And
I
can
never
forget
his
charismatic
face
and
his
spirit,"
the
83-year-old
director
said.
Adding
some
Bollywood
glamour
to
the
cinema
gala,
Ranveer
Singh
performed
on
the
hit
Hindi
tracks
from
the
last
five
decades
like
"Ye
Desh
Hai
Vir
Jawano
Ka",
"Zindagi
Ek
Safar",
"Pyaar
Hume
Kis
Mod
Par
Le
Aaya"
and
many
others.
Shraddha
Kapoor
showcased
the
power
of
Indian
women
with
her
performance
on
motivational
songs
like
"Kar
Har
Maidan
Fateh"
and
"Badal
pe
paon
hain".
Her
performance
was
followed
by
an
act
by
star-couple
Riteish
Deshmukh
and
Genelia
Deshmukh,
who
promoted
regional
cinema
by
performing
on
Marathi
songs.
Salman's
high-octane
act
on
his
hit
songs
from
movies
"Dabangg",
"Sultan",
"Bharat"
and
"Tiger
Zinda
Hai"
brought
an
end
to
the
opening
ceremony.
IFFI,
which
will
run
till
November
28,
will
feature
148
films
from
about
73
countries
in
the
International
Section.
The
festival
will
have
about
12
world
premieres,
about
seven
international
premieres,
26
Asia
premieres
and
about
64
India
premieres.
An
array
of
world-renowned
filmmakers,
actors,
technicians,
critics,
academicians
and
film
enthusiasts
will
come
together
to
celebrate
cinema
and
the
art
of
filmmaking
through
various
film
screenings,
presentations,
masterclasses,
panel
discussions
and
seminars.
Spanish
filmmaker
Carlos
Saura's
"The
King
of
All
the
World"
is
the
opening
film
for
the
52nd
edition,
while
Asghar
Farhadi's
"A
Hero",
which
won
the
Grand
Prix
at
the
Cannes
Film
Festival,
will
close
the
festival.