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Chief guest actor Anil Kapoor lights the lamp in the presence of Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley, Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar, Governor of Goa Mridula Sinha, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and other dignitaries at the inauguration of the 46th International Film Festival, at Bambolim on Friday. Sagun Gawade
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head:
Glitz & glamour: IFFI blockbuster opens
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quote:
Cinema is not just entertainment but an art and an important influencing medium. Choosing Goa as the permanent venue was the right decision because its Goa's hospitality that attracts admiration of people in the country and across the world
-- Laxmikant Parsekar, chief minister
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PANAJI
It was a night of glitz and glamour as the 46th International Film Festival of India kicked off with a bang at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Bambolim on Friday. The event which was hosted by dynamic Bollywood actors Ayushman Khurana and Aditi Rao Hydari
had the evergreen actor Anil Kapoor as the chief guest for the event and witnessed the presence of dignitaries like Governor of Goa Mridula Sinha, Chief Minister of Goa, Laxmikant Parsekar, Union Finance Minster Arun Jaitley, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Union Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and stars like Kabir Khan, Shekhar Kapur, Rishi Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha and Dev Patel among others.
Stating that Indian cinema celebrates the unity and diversity that India is known for, Parsekar in his speech said cinema is not just entertainment but an art and an important influencing medium. He also reiterated that choosing Goa as the permanent venue for this event was the right decision. “It is Goa's hospitality that attracts the admiration of people in the country and across the world, thus it is appropriate as the permanent venue,” he said. “Previously there were speculations whether Goa could handle a festival of this magnitude, now there are only expectations on what new things the festival will bring each year. And I assure you that all these expectations will be fulfilled.” He also stated that the Goan film industry has also benefited from this festival.
“Previously, the Goan film industry had no significant film exposure but with Goa becoming a permanent venue, the industry has taken shape. Although there is no sufficient market for these films yet, the quality and standard of films that are being made are at par with other regional films. Every year atleast one film makes it to the Indian Panaroma section since 2004 and three Goan films have won National awards,” he said, while assuring Goan film makers of full support in helping Goan cinema flourish.
Chairman of the Jury for the film festival noted film maker Shekhar Kapur also expressed his happiness on Goa being the permanent host for the event. “This is simply for two reasons “ I love Goa and along with Parrikar I was the one who fought to bring it to Goa,” he stated. The other jury members for the festival are English film director and screenwriter Micheal Radford, German actress Julian Jentsch, Palestine film maker Suha Arraf and South Korea director Jeon Kyu Hwan.
One of the main highlights of the event was the felicitation of veteran film composer and music director Ilaiyaraja with the centenary award for lifetime achievement by Arun Jaitley and Anil Kapoor. Ilairaja who began his tryst with the Indian film industry in the 70s was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2010 and is presently composing for his 1000th film. He is the only Indian to compose a song using only three notes. While stating that he makes music in Indian cinema that is divine, he expressed sadness over the growing violence everywhere. He also appealed to the the government to make music compulsory in schools and colleges as this was a way in which violence can be reduced.
Chief guest Anil Kapoor, also commended the work done by Ilairaja revealing that he first had a chance to work with the maestro in his second film which was a Kannada movie. Quoting Jean “ Luc Godard, Kapoor said that cinema is truth at 24 frames per second and urged the audience to “get lost in the magic of cinema over the next few days”.
The actor also entertained the crowds by dancing to two of his popular tunes 'Dhak Dhak' and 'Lakhan'. Celebrated dance choreographer Terence Lewis and his troupe also delivered a splendid dance performance as they paid ode to the power of cinema. The event came to a close with the official IFFI anthem performed by Goan musician Varun Carvalho and his troupe.
