Panjim: Inauguration of the 50th International Film Festival of India (Iffi) on Wednesday will witness an unparalleled ceremony with Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan and legend from South Indian movies Rajnikant being in attendance.
The feat of getting the two greatest Indian movie icons together has been successfully achieved by organisers of the Iffi. The inauguration will be the most high profile ever in the five-decade-old history of the international event.
Apart from the two legends, several stalwarts from Indian and foreign film industry are expected to participate in the event, scheduled from November 20 to November 28 in Goa. Music legend Ilayaraja is scheduled to perform at the event on November 27.
The inaugural event will be hosted by director and producer Karan Johar. Music composer and singer Shankar Mahadevan will also perform at the inaugural ceremony.
The opening film is director Goran Paskaljevic’s Despite the Fog, an Italian drama.
Enthusiasts will get to witness 90 all-India premiers of foreign films, 24 of them Oscar nominated, sources said. This year’s edition of Iffi offers film buffs a star-studded selection of films and ceremonies.
Iffi 2019 will showcase over 200 films from 76 countries, including 26 feature films and 15 non-feature films in the Indian Panorama section.
John Bailey, cinematographer and former president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, will head the international jury of Iffi.
Among the jury are French filmmaker Robin Campillo, also on the Cannes 2019 International Jury; Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yang, Scottish filmmaker-writer and cinematographer Lynne Ramsay, and eminent Bollywood filmmaker Ramesh Sippy.
