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.
As promised by the director Ayan Mukerji, the trailer of the film, a fantasy epic, is a complete visual treat for fans. The over three-minute clip is packed with a heavy impressive VFX shots, and an indication of the film's grand scale.
The actress who had her fair share of success in the '90s era, made her OTT debut with the web series 'Aranyak'. Her performance with a quiet role as Kasturi Dogra was hugely appreciated by the critics and audience alike.
Congress General Secretary Sachin Sawant said here it has been two years now since the unfortunate demise of Rajput, 675 days since the CBI started investigations and 615 days since an AIIMS panel ruled out murder. Rajput, is survived by his father Krishna Kishore Singh, sisters Nitu Singh, Meetu Singh, Priyanka Singh and Shweta Singh-Kirti.
Aamir will be present there as a celebrity guest and will be seen addressing the young athletes across schools and colleges of India. Aamir's presence will boost enthusiasm and help in recognition of the talent present there.
In the teaser, Farhan is seen sporting mid-shoulder level hair and a full-grown beard. His character is seen giving wisdom to Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan.
Set in Falauli, Punjab, the series will unfold the unspoken truths that cloud the lives of the Kapoor family, where complex relationship dynamics change with time and ambition. The six-episode series, releasing on June 17.
