In the luminous presence of two stalwarts of Indian cinema – Amitabh Bachchan and Rajinikanth, the golden jubilee edition of the International Film Festival of India got off to a mesmeric start at Panaji, Goa on 20th November.  Ending the long wait of cinephiles across the world, 50th International Film Festival of India kickstarted in all its glitz and glamour. 

At a grand ceremony hosted by the master of entertainment Karan Johar, the great doyen of Indian cinema Amitabh Bachchan and the ‘Thalaiva’ of Indian film industry Rajinikanth flagged off the extravaganza and announced the festival open, in the presence of Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar and other official dignitaries.

Rajinikanth was conferred the ‘Icon Of Golden Jubilee Award’ for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.

Receiving the ‘Icon Of Golden Jubilee Award, Rajinikanth expressed his happiness to receive the prestigious award from Amitabh Bachchan. He dedicated the award to all the producers, directors and technicians who worked in his films, his fans and people of Tamil Nadu. 

One of French cinema’s defining faces actress Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Prakash Javadekar elaborated steps taken by the Government that will facilitate cinema in the country:

• single window system introduced by the government will attract more international filmmakers to shoot their films in India.

“ India has lots of scenic and beautiful shooting sites for national and international films but shooting at these locations requires around 15-20 permissions. Government is now preparing for single window arrangement which will take care of all the permissions and it will benefit places like Goa, Leh-Ladakh and Andaman & Nicobar.”

• films, IT and music are India’s soft power and we have to take it forward.

“Every film and character leaves a long lasting imprint on our mind and it has the power to change our thoughts and mood” ; audience for Indian films is growing by leaps and bounds and people across the world really like to watch Indian movies even in China. 

“Many good films of the world will be showcased in this film festival and it will be a tribute to former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar,” the Minister said.  He mentioned about a film in the festival which has been made by local artists of Goa based on the lives of visually impaired people. 

Amitabh Bachchan expressing his happiness in being honoured stated, “I have no words to express my gratitude to IFFI for honouring me and having a retrospective of my films.”

The Secretary Information and Broadcasting Ministry, Amit Khare noted the tremendous change in the last 50 editions from a participation of 23 countries in 1952, to 76 countries this year. 

Lights and luminaries of film industry such as world known Cinematographer and Chairman of IFFI International Jury John Bailey; Indian film maker, and Chairman of Indian jury Priyadarshan and other jury members of Indian and International jury, Maria Lemesheva, Head of Russian delegation, graced the opening ceremony.

Legends of Indian film industry Ramesh Sippy, N. Chandra and P.C. Sreeram were honoured at the inaugural ceremony.  

In the inaugural ceremony of the festival Union Minister for AYUSH Shripad Naik, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo, Prasar Bharati Chairman A. Suryaprakash,  Central Board of Film Certification Chairman Prasoon Joshi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Atul Kumar Tiwari, Festival Director Chaitanya Prasad, and Vice Chairman Entertainment Society of Goa.  Subhash Phal Desai were also present.

The festival opened with the Italian film ‘Despite the Fog’ directed by Goran Paskaljevic. The cast and crew of the film also participated in the screening. Around 7000 delegates are participating in the golden edition of IFFI. 

The 50th International Film Festival of India 2019 will witness over 200 acclaimed films from 76 countries, with Russia as the country of focus. It also includes 26 feature films and 15 non feature films in Indian panorama section. More than 10,000 people and film lovers are expected to participate in the golden jubilee edition.The festival ends on Thursday 28 November, 2019, in Panaji, Goa.