MELBOURNE, July 8: Big Bollywood names like Karan Johar, Irrfan Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Raveena Tondon, Rajkummar Rao and “Dangal” director Nitesh Tiwari will attend the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2017.
Officially launching the festival yesterday, the IFFM director Mitu Bhowmick Lange said the opening film for the festival will be “Lipstick Under my Burkha”.
Director Alankrita Shrivastava will be attending the opening night along with film’s actress Konkana.
The 13 day long festival will start on August 10 and will screen over 60 films in 20 languages from India and subcontinent.
“This year’s festival will present films that explore diversity and the endless potential of humanity. These films were curated to entertain, inspire, enrage, engage and challenge viewers. We look forward to welcoming a fantastic lineup of guests and welcoming audiences to our screenings and special events,” Lange said.
The festival’s opening week which is coinciding with Indian Independence Day celebrations will see the Indian flag hoisting ceremony. Irrfan will be the special guest on the occasion and will hoist the Indian flag at the iconic Federation Square building.
The star studded Westpac IFFM Awards night will be held on August 11 at Melbourne’s Recital Centre where best actor, best actress, best film, best director, best indie film and Telstra peoples’ choice award will be given.
Amitabh Bachchan for “Pink”, Rao for “Trapped”, Sushant Singh Rajput for “M S Dhoni: The Untold Story”, Hrithik Roshan for “Kaabil”, Aamir Khan for “Dangal”, Lalit Behl and Adil Hussain for “Mukti Bhawan” have been nominated for the best actor award.
Alia Bhatt, Vidya Balan, Tannishta Chatterjee, Konkona, Ratna Pathak Shah and Kavya Madhvan are in the race for best actress award while nominees in best film category are “Ae Dil hai Mushkil”, “Joker”, “Sultan”, “Pink”, and “MS Dhoni…”.
“Dangal” and “Baahubali 2” have been nominated for Telstra People’s choice award.
Other programs of the festival would include Q&A sessions, dance and short film competitions and masterclasses including one with Johar.
Lauding the festival’s success, Victorian minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley said, “The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne promotes the cross cultural exchange of ideas between Indian and Australian audiences through its unique and diverse selection of films and events.
“The Victorian Government is proud to support the festival and welcome it back to Victoria for another year. This film is just our first look at what promises to be another exciting program.”
Malaika Arora, Rahul Bose, Simi Grewal, Shoojit Sircar, Vikram Phadnis and Onir will also attend the film fest. (PTI)
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