A starry affair: Bollywood celebs flag off Indian Film Festival of Melbourne
Darpan News Desk IANS, 12 Aug, 2022 03:17 PM
Mumbai, Aug 12 (IANS) Bollywood celebrities such as Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vaani Kapoor, Tamannaah Bhatia, Shefali Shah, among many others, flagged off the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne to its physical form in Australia with its 13th edition.
Other personalities who were a part of this include singer Sona Mohapatra, former cricketer and ex captain of India Kapil Dev and filmmakers Anurag Kashyap, Kabir Khan, Aparna Sen, Nikkhil Advani and Shoojit Sircar.
The festival, which kicked off on Friday (August 12), will conclude on August 20.
Commenting on the occasion, Abhishek Bachchan, who is "absolutely loving" being in the moment in Melbourne, is excited to watch the screening of his 'Manmarziyaan' co-star Taapsee Pannu's upcoming film 'Dobaaraa'.
He said, "I'm looking forward to watching 'Dobaaraa'. My almost entire family has represented India here and I'm very proud of it. I'm looking forward to being part of all the celebrations and I thank the government and Mitu for having me here. It feels great to be given the Leadership in Cinema award".
The actors took to the podium in presence of a special audience to announce this year's programme schedule with 'Dobaaraa' being the opening night film.
Other events lined up apart from the screening of over 120 films are the Independence Day Celebrations of India and an array of panel discussions amongst other specially curated events.
When asked about the South and Hindi film debate at the festival, actress Tamannaah Bhatia said, "I think this conversation is only unique to India, whenever I travel abroad I never hear people distinguish, they simply call it Indian cinema. And such is the case even here at IFFM."
She feels that the audience wants to see pan India films as more of such content is being made and being admired by all.
Thanking everyone for their wishes, Katrina posted on Instagram in the evening: "Birthday (balloon emoji) thank u so much everyone for all the love always!"
She was 76 and breathed her last surrounded by her family members and caregivers. The family requested for privacy in their hour of grief. A former sister-in-law of veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah.
Bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu will be seen in the upcoming film "Blurr", which will be bankrolled by her newly-announced production company Outsider Films. The film will be helmed by director Ajay Bahl, best known for his 2019 release, "Section 375".
In the pictures posted, the actress pairs a ruffled sari with a lace blouse, turquoise earrings, and tied-up hair. Chitrangda was last seen in the 2018 release, "Bazaar" in 2018. She did a cameo in "Ghoomketu" last year.
Dia Mirza and Vaibhav Rekhi on Wednesday announced the birth of their son Avyaan Azaad Rekhi. Dia shared the news with fans on Instagram with a long, emotional note. The actress posted a picture holding her son's hand. She informed her son was a premature baby born on May 14, due to complications in her pregnancy. The baby is in Neonatal ICU since birth.
Actress Katrina Kaif channels her inner Barbie spirit in a new video she has posted on social media, dressed in a pink outfit. Katrina's next release is "Sooryavanshi", starring Akshay Kumar.
